


Undertale: Resurrected

by EdgeLord3000



Category: Undertale
Genre: Bravery, Determination, Female Chara, Human Souls, Integrity, Justice, Kindness, Male Frisk, Six Souls - Freeform, fallen souls - Freeform, glasses Frisk, patience - Freeform, perseverance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-13
Updated: 2019-09-20
Packaged: 2019-11-02 00:23:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 31,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17877614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EdgeLord3000/pseuds/EdgeLord3000
Summary: After many resets, Frisk finally decides to finish with a Pacifist Run and let everyone have their happy ending. With humans and monsters slowly coming together, everything seems to be falling into place and he couldn't be happier. But Frisk remembers something: The other six human souls. Their bodies were left in the Underground without a proper burial, one of which they deserve. However, when he and Toriel go up to retrieve the bodies of the children, they discover something rather unexpected.





	1. Chapter One: Return to the Mountain

Mount Ebott. The place the monsters were trapped under for years upon years. Practically everyone buried under there had wanted to leave, and finally, their prayers were answered. No one hardly returned to the mountain, to the prison that had held the monsters, but today, someone did, for the monsters weren't the only ones that resided there.

        "Frisk!" called Toriel, her voice equaling the tone of a worried mother. "Don't rush so far ahead, my child! I don't want you to get lost."

        Frisk turned around from where he stood on a few large rocks, the boy giving his adoptive mother a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Mom! I've been up here before. I can find the cave."

        In response to this, Toriel just huffed, though a small smile was playing at her lips as she clambered up the rocks to stand beside the young boy. "That may be, but you have to make sure you wait for your mother. I may be an excellent climber, but I'm also old, so I can't climb as fast as you, dear."

        "Okay," Frisk replied, nodding his head in acknowledgement before once again climbing over a few more large rocks. This time, however, he made sure Toriel was close behind and even did his best to help her up a few times.

        "Thank you, my child," Toriel said graciously as she righted herself for what felt like the millionth time. Once she had done so, she looked up to see that finally, they had reached their destination. "Ah. It appears we have arrived right at the entrance."

        The two were staring at the large mouth of cave on the mountainside, the cave looking all too familiar given that they had both passed through it to escape the Underground. In front of it was a clearing that lead to the ledge Frisk and Toriel were standing on at the moment; it was the same ledge the monsters had all stood on as they watched their first sunrise.

        As they approached the cave, Toriel suddenly stopped, the goat monster placing her hand in front of Frisk to stop him as well. The boy then halted as well and frowned, looking up at her with confused brown eyes. When he saw her expression though, he knew why she had stopped, and what she said next only confirmed it.

        "Frisk, I... I don't want you going down there with me. Those children... I remember all of them... I don't want you to see them if they're in... Poor condition." Toriel then looked away from her son, the woman clearly feeling a bit emotional over this entire ordeal.

        Despite Toriel's attempts to keep her words kid friendly, Frisk knew exactly what she was saying. She had cared for the other souls that had fallen into the Underground before him, and neither of them had made it out alive. Not only did she want to keep Frisk from beholding the sight of a potentially mutilated corpse, but she also didn't want him to see her cry.

        With a nearly inaudible huff, the boy wrapped his arms around his adoptive mother's waist, nuzzling into her a bit as he mumbled, "I'll wait for you. I promise." Eventually, he felt a furry paw gently rub his head.

        "I am so blessed to have a child like you, Frisk." And with that, she kissed her son's forehead before ascending into the mouth of the cave, back into the Underground.

        Now he was alone on the mountainside, the only thing accompanying him being the wind whistling through the trees and stirring up the fallen leaves. With a small huff, Frisk curled up a bit in his sweater and began pacing back and forth, the boy trying his best to keep himself warm. He had forgotten that it was colder on the mountain, and therefore hadn’t bundled up in anything like Toriel had suggested he do. This then prodded him to do what he’d told her he wouldn’t do and enter the cave, though he still told himself that he wouldn’t leave the throne room, just so he could give the goat woman some privacy.

        The throne room, however, looked different. The chairs were no longer there and neither were the blankets covering them; even the blanket covering the portrait of the Royal Family was gone, which raised some questions. He knew Asgore hadn’t taken his throne with him and had left the throne room just the way it was. Some other monsters could’ve taken these things, but he highly doubted it, simply because he’d met most, if not all the monsters and he knew they wouldn’t do this. Something seemed off about this, and he couldn’t help but wonder if he and Toriel were the only ones to have visited the Ruins as of late. His little theory of course, was actually correct.

        Unknown to Frisk, he wasn’t alone. Outside the room in the castle corridor stood three kids, one impatient, the other fearful, and the last one frustrated. They had not anticipated company, and now that they were practically cornered, they were trying to plan their next move.

        “That goat-thing went down there, and now there’s someone else in that big room,” one of them whispered before looking down the stairs with a wary gaze. “Do you think they put us in the coffins? We need to leave before they find us-!”

        “Flare, we’re cornered! We can’t leave! The only way we can go is down that way!” hissed another as she pointed down the one hallway they’d never explored.

        “But we don’t know where that one goes!”

        “Well there aren’t people in it!”

        “But still!”

        “Austin, what do you think?” The Latina then turned to the one other kid in the group, who was pacing impatiently as he fiddled with some of the flowers in his hands. When he didn’t look up, she frowned and crossed her arms. “Well? You’re the reason we got into this mess. You should be able to find our way out.”

        Austin then turned his head and looked over at Daya, his brown hair covering his eyes. With an impatient huff, he gestured towards the throne room, only to cause Daya to facepalm.

        “We can’t go that way- There’s someone in there!” said Flare in a worried tone, Daya huffing in annoyance at the boy’s stubbornness.

        “Well until they leave, we’re stuck here, and if we stay here, that goat-thing’s gonna find us when she comes back up first or that other kid will wander in here and we’ll have to fight him to leave,” Daya said as she began to weigh her options. “We’re either gonna run down that other corridor and hide, or we’re gonna have to fight the other kid to get out first.” She then looked at the raggedy sheet she was wearing before remembering something. “And maybe we can take their sweater. It’s better than those sheets we found.”

        Both Austin and Flare took some time to reflect on this, Flare speaking up first. “Maybe we could fight our way out, before the goat woman finds us.”

        “I-I don’t want to fight. I just want to leave,” Austin replied with an annoyed yet very much unnerved frown, once again glancing towards the entrance to the throne room.

        “Fight it is,” Daya concluded before peaking back into the room, only to see that the kid in the striped sweater was nowhere to be found. “…Where did he-” Daya cut off her sentence when Frisk poked his head out from behind the wall, causing the green-eyed girl to cry out as she stumbled back and hid behind Flare.

        Not knowing what to do, Flare flung a punch at the unknown child, her own eyes wide with panic. When she missed, the girl sprinted past her opponent and ran away as fast as she could, Frisk almost pursuing her before he remembered that there were two other children standing before him.

        “Where are you going?! Come back!” Daya yelled before realizing that she and Austin were left to fend for themselves. Unfortunately for her, Austin was no fighter and neither was she; they had been relying on Flare’s fighter instinct the whole time, but now that she had run, they were defenseless.

        Austin, scared of Frisk, panicked as well and was about to sprint into the basement when a small flame burst from the darkness along with a few others, blocking off the long hallway that lead to New Home as well as any way of escape.

        “Frisk! What is going on up here!” cried out a fearful yet motherly voice as Toriel emerged from the basement with a fireball hovering above her paw. However, when she caught sight of the chaos, of Daya and Austin, she could do nothing more but stare in shock. The fireballs flickered before disappearing entirely as the goat woman continued to stare, unable to believe what she was seeing.

        “I-I just walked in here and they were here and this other girl ran back outside-” rambled Frisk as he stood in the doorway, still not sure what was going on. However, he did stop talking when he noticed Austin had started to cry, the boy clinging to Daya’s leg as he buried his head in her raggedy sheet. The girl too was also beginning to tear up and cowered from where she stood.

        “P-Please don’t hurt us-” Daya whimpered as she stared at the two in fear, though the monster before them did something the two didn’t expect.

        “My children!” Toriel cried, tears beginning to cascade down her face. “I thought I lost you!”


	2. Chapter Two: The Outsiders

To say that the children were confused was an understatement; neither knew what was going on or how to react, especially Frisk, who decided to wait everything out and see if he could learn more by listening to them speak. However, he had a feeling he already knew these kids, the boy faintly recognizing Daya’s voice, but he didn’t know from where or why Toriel had also called them her children; he assumed he would find out in time.

        Daya and Austin on the other hand, were a confused and nervous wreck, neither knowing what to do or how to handle the situation. They had never spoken to any outsiders before and they had lost their defense, so all they could do was cower in fear. But that didn’t mean they didn’t hear Toriel’s words nonetheless.

        “…H-How are you our m-mom…? You’re a… monster.” Daya didn’t exactly know how else to describe Toriel, seeing as she had never recalled meeting monsters before. The only ones she had seen were in the large picture in the throne room, but after Austin’s reaction to the picture, everyone had decided that the strange creatures were as bad as any other outsiders.

        Toriel, on the other hand, was confused. She knew these children; she would never forget them. How did they not know her? “Do you not remember me?” she questioned as she wiped her tears off her face with her paw. “I took care of you in the Ruins when you first arrived. Daya, we cooked together; I taught you my recipe for butterscotch-cinnamon pie. And Austin, we went to the flower bed every day to tend to the golden flowers… Don’t you remember?”

        At the mention of their names, Daya frowned as she hugged Austin and watched the goat monster while Austin looked up a little from where he sat, the boy sniffling a bit as he continued to cling to his friend. Both seemed confused by the fact that Toriel knew their names. Maybe she was what she said she was?

        “Do you still like flower crowns?” The question caught Austin’s attention immediately, and the boy slowly brought his head up from Daya’s sheet before looking down at the flowers he was clutching closely to his chest. He then gazed back up at Toriel, almost as if silently answering a yes; the goat woman, in turn, took this as a good side.

        “I… I can make one for you, with those flowers,” Toriel offered, slowly extending her paw to the boy.

        Instinctively, Daya flinched and shrunk away, though Austin didn’t follow his friend’s movements. In fact, he slowly took the flowers and dropped them in her paw, only to back away a bit as he watched Toriel begin to weave the stems together into the form of a golden flower crown. Austin, intrigued, continued to stare and even approached her to get a closer look, wanting to know how she had done this, and if he could repeat the process himself sometime.

        Once she was done, Toriel smiled sadly at the young boy and held it out to him, knowing that she couldn’t just place it on his head instantly given how fearful he and Daya had reacted to her. She hoped Austin would take the flower crown as a sign of trust, and thankfully, he did.

        Hesitantly, the boy reached for the flower crown and placed it on his head, adjusting it around his matted brown hair so that it fit comfortably. His attention was focused mainly on the crown when once again, Toriel spoke.

        “You could never make one without your ribbon…” the woman sniffled, once again wiping a tear from her eyes. But she couldn’t help herself when she felt tiny arms try to engulf her in a hug.

        “M… Mommy?” questioned the young boy softly as he continued to cling to Toriel, though all she could do was rub his back as she continuously reassured, “Mother’s here,” to him.

        Daya, on the other hand, was still very much afraid of Toriel and wasn’t willing to trust her just yet, but the sheer fact that Austin liked her made her decide that while she didn’t like it, the goat woman was okay to say the least. However, she still questioned Frisk’s presence, and it was very clear he still questioned hers.

        “The other girl.” Daya glanced away from Toriel and frowned when she noticed Frisk had spoken. “Who was she?”

        All Daya did was frown at him, her green eyes unnerved and suspicious. “You don’t have to know,” she grumbled as she crossed her arms and began to pout.

        Austin, noticing Daya’s reluctance to cooperate, looked up and turned back to his friend. “H-He’s just wondering… P-please be nice…” He didn’t know if the girl would act rude to him in response, but thankfully, she didn’t. Mostly.

        “Easy for you to say,” said the girl as she sighed, only to be interrupted by a, “There’s a third child?” from Toriel.

        All Daya did was simply nod. “Yeah. That was Flare, and she ran off to warn the others.”

 

Run. That was the only thing on Flare’s mind as she dashed through the forest and clambered further up the mountain, fear propelling her forward throughout the course. She didn’t know who that kid or that goat-thing was, but she was sure they were bad. All outsiders were bad. She had to warn the others before something bad happened to Austin and Daya, or worse yet, the newcomers came looking for them all.

        _‘Almost there- Almost there-’_ she mentally reassured herself as she continued. _‘They’re just at the top aaaand there!’_

        Suddenly, Flare stumbled into a clearing and nearly collapsed, startling three other children and disrupting their work.

        “Flare?!” asked a blonde girl in surprise as she ran over. “What are you doing back here? Where’s Daya and Austin?”

        “Vera, let her catch her breath, then ask questions,” a girl wearing purple advised, only to gain an annoyed huff from the child known as Vera.

        The final child, a young boy with crazy curly hair, eventually trotted over with the others. “Is something w-wrong? Where are the others..?”

        “Guys, space,” Via reiterated, holding out her arms to forcefully back the two up. Given how Via was the oldest of the two smaller children, they didn’t have much of a choice in the matter and simply waited, even if Vera was impatient.

        Eventually, Flare was able to stand upright, though her heavy breathing made it clear that she was still very tired from her long run. “They’re… In trouble…” she huffed, once again setting her companions on edge.

        “Daya and Austin? Where are they?! Are they back at the Flower Room?!” Vera practically demanded, only to get a silencing look from Via.

        Either way, Flare nodded in response to Vera’s questions, only to say one word that made the group freeze. “Outsiders.”

        “What?!” Vera exclaimed in surprise while Gabriel gasped and shrunk into the sheet he wore for clothes.

        Via on the other hand, simply looked troubled, like she was trying to come up with a solution to the problem but couldn’t seem to find one that would definitely not involve fighting. When they’d met, the group had discussed what they would do with Outsiders, and the discussions only lead to everyone agreeing to avoid them as much as possible. But they hadn’t avoided them, and now Daya and Austin were in danger, at least that’s what they believed.

        “We have to rescue them!” Vera declared, Via nodding in agreement.

        “I agree, but we have to be smart about this. We can’t just rush in and attack. We don’t even know how many outsiders are out there, or how strong they are,” Via pointed out.

        “There’s a boy and… a goat monster thing-” Flare informed them, gathering enough breath to almost form full sentences.

        “Hmm. The boy might be easy to overpower, but I don’t know about the goat…” Via hummed, trying to think of a better plan.

        “W-what are we waiting for?” asked Gabriel in a small voice, all eyes falling on him as he spoke. At first he grew silent at the sudden notice of attention, but eventually, he began to speak again. “I-If Austin and Daya are in trouble, t-then we should be h-helping them!”

        “He’s got a point,” Vera pointed out with crossed arms. “It’s now or never. Who knows what these outsiders are doing to them!”

        “Then it’s settled,” Via decided as she looked over at the small group. “Grab whatever can be used as a weapon. We’re going to rescue them.”


	3. A Proposition

In less than five minutes, four children were making their way through the forest with their weapons in hand. Given their limited resources, Gabriel, Flare, and Via simply held a small sack of rocks for each other them, and while Vera too had her own set of pebbles, she also was armed with a homemade slingshot, which she had been working at mastering for a while. It was obvious to everyone that Vera had a keen eye, so of course she lead anything that involved hunting or in this case, long-distance fighting.

        “You sure they’re here?” asked Vera. “Or are they inside the Flower Room?”

        “M-maybe they’re already gone,” Gabriel whimpered, hoping he was right yet at the same time wrong.

        “I hope not, because if the outsiders left, the possibility of Daya and Austin still being here-” 

        “There!” Via was suddenly interrupted by Flare, who was aggressively pointing at the cave leading into the ever-so-well-known Flower Room. “I hear them!” 

        “Keep it down or they’ll hear us too!” Vera hissed before motioning for everyone to spread out. “Get ready to kick some outsider ass!” 

        “That’s a bad word!” Gabriel said automatically, only for Vera to roll her eyes and Via to sigh. 

        “Just- Go find a place to shoot,” Via said in exasperation before moving into a crouching position while the others began finding their own hiding places. Of course, Via ended up moving towards a better spot when Gabriel informed her she wasn’t as well-hidden as she’d thought she was, the two ending up in the same hiding spot as they prepared to strike whatever moved. 

        No sooner had everyone picked their spots when the outsiders emerged, Flare’s description proving true as the small boy and strange monster stepped into the light. 

        “Is that Austin?” Via questioned quietly, squinting as she tried to get a better look. 

        Gabriel, who was hiding nearby, whispered, “A-Austin wears bright blue stuff. That kid’s wearing a d-darker blue and pink, a-and these weird round things over his eyes-” 

        Once again, Via squinted, though she couldn’t see much of a difference, except his clothes did seem to be a slightly darker shade of blue, now that Gabriel had pointed that out. She could also see a strange flashing glare whenever he turned his head a certain way, causing her to assume that whatever these ‘round things’ were had ended up causing said glare. 

        “There’s Austin there’s Austin!” Gabriel whisper-yelled as two figures eventually followed the outsiders out of the cave. Those two figures were none other than Daya and Austin, though no one waited for an explanation as Vera suddenly yelled, “Fire!” 

        Instantly, rocks began flying out of the woods and in the direction of the two outsiders, Austin letting out a terrified squeal as Toriel tried to shield him and the other two children from the attack. Frisk, not expecting the sudden onslaught, yelped and ducked down himself, though he soon ran to Toriel in an attempt to find cover. 

        Daya, on the other hand, started yelling at the trees after letting out her own cry of surprise. “Hey! Stop it! Ow! Stop throwing the stupid rocks!” Granted that was rather rude of her, but after getting hit by one of the many flying pebbles, she’d become irritated. Once the group had realized they were hitting a wide open Daya more than they were hitting the goat monster, they stopped. Mostly. Another rock had come flying out of the forest and hit Toriel in the head. 

        “Vera!” yelled an indignant Daya as Toriel grunted and brought a paw up to her head to rub it. 

        “What?! We were saving you!” The blonde retorted as she popped up from behind a bush, her slingshot in hand. 

        “You hit me in the arm!” Daya countered, beginning to tear up a bit as she rubbed it. “That hurt!” 

        “I didn’t hit you! I wasn’t even aiming at you!” 

        “I think I did,” said Flare as she slowly came out from behind a tree. “I’m sorry-” 

        “I told you so!” 

        “Guys, calm yourselves!” said Via with an annoyed sigh as she came out from behind her own hiding place, Gabriel at her side. 

        “Austin!” Gabriel exclaimed before suddenly running up to his friend, the cyan-clothed boy moving out of Toriel’s protective embrace before nearly getting tackled. 

        Via rubbed her temples a bit as she tried to focus, the girl trying to sort things out in her head. In all honesty, she didn’t want to take charge of all of this, but the situation at hand was a unique one, and no matter how much she didn’t want to, it was crucial she straighten everything out. “Everyone, calm down. We have other things to worry about besides getting hit in the arm with a rock.” 

        At those words, Daya, Vera, and Flare turned to look up at her, Daya seeming almost hurt that Via didn’t seem to care about her minor injury, but she didn’t complain.         “How are we gonna deal with the outsiders?” asked Flare before tensing as her eyes locked onto something outside the group. 

        Turning around, Via noticed that the strange boy that resembled Austin had made his way over. Thankfully, now that she was closer and out of the trees, she could see him a bit better; his skin was very tan compared to Austin’s pale complexion, and he was indeed wearing two strange round lenses over what appeared to be brown eyes. The girl would’ve spent time trying to figure out what the strange lenses were called, but there were more pressing matters to deal with. 

        “Outsiders? You mean me and Mom-?” 

        “Back off before I throw another rock at your face!” said a defensive Vera as Frisk put his hands up to signify he meant no harm as well as didn’t want to be harmed. 

        “Vera!” Once again, Via was yelling at the small child, though she didn’t continue of course. Instead, Via simply facepalmed before looking back at the group, the girl suddenly noticing what Frisk had said prior to Vera cutting him off. “Wait… Mom?” The brunette then turned her head to catch a glimpse of the strange monster with the two boys in the group, both seeming to be at ease for the most part. Austin was speaking to Gabriel about the strange monster no doubt, and the monster seemed to be almost overjoyed, though the reason why, she didn’t know. “She’s a completely different species from yourself. There’s no way you both can be related.” 

        Frisk let out an awkward chuckle before rubbing his head. “Yeah, I’m adopted.” 

        “Adopted?” questioned Via in confusion, trying to figure out what the word meant. 

        “She’s raising me because I have no parents-” Frisk clarified, only to get a quick, “Oh,” from Via before she turned to her group of girls and asked, “Daya, you had us stop our rescue mission. Is there a reason?” 

        Daya perked up at the mention of her name, the dark-skinned girl then trying to think of the right words to say. “Um, well the goat woman said she was our mom-” 

        “And you believed her?” Vera said flatly with crossed arms. 

        “No!” Daya retorted before looking back to Via. “But the weird thing is, she knew what Austin liked to do and stuff… She even made him a flower crown to prove it… She didn’t do much with me, but she knew my name, and she knew I liked to cook… I kind of think she could be telling the truth… She seems to really care…” 

        “That’s because she does,” Frisk piped up, earning the attention of the four girls once again. “I mean, I know her better than anyone and she’s one of the best moms ever. She cares about everyone.” 

        “…I’m not buying it,” Vera said skeptically, Flare nodding to show that she too agreed with the small blonde. 

        “We don’t have to buy it just yet,” Via told the young girl before once again redirecting her attention back to Frisk. “We’ll give you and your mom a chance to explain yourselves and why you’re here, just so we have the whole story before we come to a smart decision.” 

        Instantly, Frisk perked up at this, happy that he could at least explain himself before almost getting punched in the face like back in the throne room. 

         “Okay! Well, greetings. My name’s Frisk Dreemurr. My mom over there is Toriel Dreemurr, and yeah she’s a monster and I’m a human. And, well, the reason we were on the mountain was because, well, we came here to bury the Fallen Souls.” 

        The four girls then exchanged looks of confusion, neither really understanding what he meant by ‘Fallen Souls.’ However, that didn’t mean they weren’t slowly piecing it together. 

        “Fallen Souls?” questioned Via, curious. “Can you explain?” 

        “Of course!” Frisk replied before continuing. “In the Underground, those caves we came out of, some humans like me fell down there. But unlike me, they didn’t live, so we were coming up here to bury them instead of leaving them in those coffins-” 

        “I knew it!” Flare suddenly yelled, pointing at the slightly older boy as she stumbled back. “He put us in coffins! They all put us in coffins! They want to bury us alive!” 

        To say her words weren’t unsettling would’ve been an understatement, for everyone was instantly cautious of this new development. The three other girls quickly took their own steps away from Frisk, while Gabriel had shied away from Toriel a bit and was now hiding behind Austin. In fact, the only one who didn’t seem as bothered was Austin, who, while a bit nervous, was subtly trying to calm Gabriel. 

        Frisk, however, was shocked by this new development, the boy finally being able to piece things together. That’s why Toriel had known who Austin and Daya were; that’s why he’d felt as though he had known the two, even for a short while; there were even six of them- How had he been unable to piece this together in the beginning? Either way, that didn’t matter right now; what mattered was calming them all down before they either ran away or attacked him, and he didn’t put it past Vera or Flare to try something if he got too close. 

        “I-I didn’t! We didn’t! We just knew you were there!” Frisk swore, once again putting his hands in the air to show he meant no harm. 

        “You claim we had been put in coffins because we had died, yet we are still alive,” Via said in dispute. “It’s impossible to simply die and come back to life.” 

        “So why did you put us in cof-” 

        “Children! Cease this argument this instant!” Falling silent, everyone then turned their attention to Toriel, who wore a stern yet tired expression on her face. With a sigh, she continued, “Many things have happened in the past, not all of which you will understand, but, at least you’re safe, and that is all that matters.” 

        Despite the recent discovery, the six were still taken back by Toriel’s words. Each word seemed to hold genuine care and relief in them, almost as if she actually cared for the group, like a mother would. This had more or less stunned them into a temporary silence, though of course it didn’t last forever. 

        “Daya says you claimed to be our mother, even though we aren’t even of the same species and have never seen you before until now. Can you explain?” Via inquired. 

        “She’s lying!” Vera instantly spoke, glaring at both Frisk and Toriel. “Why should we trust her when she put us in those coffins?!” 

        In response, Frisk flinched, knowing his adoptive mother would never do such a thing. He knew she cared for them as much as she cared for him, so the fact that one of her own children was accusing her of killing them probably hurt Toriel. However, even if it did, she didn’t show it, and instead looked back towards Via with determination in her eyes. 

        “I can,” the monster replied with a small sigh. “And I can prove it.” 

        Via, to show she understood, nodded, only to hold her hand out in front of Vera as if warning her to not interrupt. 

        A short silence overtook the clearing, only to end as Toriel began to speak once again. “In the Underground, before your… departure, I took care of each of you… like you were my own children… I got to know you all. I learned of Austin’s love for the flowers that bloomed in the Underground, and Flare was always happy to run outside to play.” 

        Instantly, Flare’s attention was grasped, but Toriel didn’t stop there; she kept going. 

        “Daya always loved to help me cook butterscotch-cinnamon pie, and Gabriel loved to perform in the living room.” 

        Daya, having not been told this earlier, also reacted a bit in surprise, while Gabriel appeared to be also stunned though a little embarrassed by his secret being exposed. This left Vera and Via, who were also not disappointed. 

        “Vera had always had good aim… Even if I didn’t approve of her toting that gun around…” And lastly, Toriel’s teary eyes rested on Via. “And Via, you loved to read and write… You carried that journal with you everywhere… Do you still have it?” 

        The only thing that greeted Toriel’s words was silence, neither of the kids knowing how to react. It was clear each of them were stunned by her knowledge, unable to grasp how she could’ve known such things. But at the same time, some were confused. Vera loved shooting things, but she didn’t remember owning a gun; and Via liked to write and document things, but she didn’t recall having a journal. The only ones who seemed relatively comfortable with these new developments were, surprisingly, the two most skittish kids in the group. Austin was simply standing there calmly with Gabriel, who seemed rather nervous but wasn’t as freaked out because of Austin’s relaxed demeanor. 

        “Do you believe us now?” Frisk asked, breaking the silence as he looked up at the four girls in the group. “You don’t have to, but at the very least you could come with us and clean up and stuff; you guys must be really cold with those sheets and old clothes.” 

        It was true. While they were all clothed, neither of them were really warm. The sheets half the kids wore were not good for trapping the heat in, and the other half with clothes had some tears in them, probably from living outside for so long. In fact, now that Frisk thought about it, how long had they been living out there? The monsters had been freed for about six months now, so it couldn’t have been longer than that. Either way, the fact that they’d been living in the wild was rather obvious; their filthy clothes and dirty skin and hair made that very clear. 

        “…D-do you have food?” asked Gabriel softly, looking up at Toriel with questioning blue eyes. 

        “What about warm clothes?” piped up Daya as she shivered when a small breeze blew by. “This sheet isn’t that warm-” 

        “They’re Outsiders. Can we trust them?” Vera questioned, looking up to Via for answers; while she was still opposed to going with them, she truly didn’t know what to do given Toriel’s knowledge on them. She had proved she’d known all of the children at some point, even though none of them remembered. And Vera did want to get out of the cold and get something warmer on than a stained white dress. 

        “I promise, on my word, that we would never harm you children,” Toriel said softly as she lightly rubbed Gabriel’s head, only to quickly yank it back when Gabriel squealed and jumped back. 

        Growing impatient, Austin couldn’t help but voice his own opinion. “C-can we just go? It’s cold out here…” As if to prove his point, another breeze whisked by the group, forcing each of them to consider the fact that they didn’t have much of a choice in the matter, especially Via. 

        While neither of them remembered much, it wasn’t hard to recognize the change in seasons. It was cold, and it would only get colder. None of them had really warm clothes, and those whose clothes might have actually been effective had been torn and weren’t as warm as they could be. If they were to have a chance of surviving the winter, then they needed a good supply of food, a good shelter, and warm clothes, none of which the group currently had. 

        As Via finished running these thoughts through her mind, the pre-teen then noticed that the other kids had their eyes on her, all waiting for an answer. She knew that as the oldest, the five younger ones looked up to her to make the hard decisions, and given the situation at hand, this was definitely a hard decision to make. But, it was necessary, and if going with Toriel meant food and shelter and warmth, then she was willing to give it a shot. 

        With a small breath, Via answered, “… Let’s give it a try.”


	4. A Journey Downhill

The trip down the mountain was long and slow, especially when it came to some of the kids. Despite having lived on the mountain for six months, they hadn’t dared venture down the rocky land, so for many this was kind of new. Flare and Vera ended up managing well enough on their own, but with the other four, it was a different story.

        “This is crazy! Why would you ever climb up here-?!” Daya cried, clinging to one of the rocks before ever so slowly sliding down to the next one. 

        “Ah! I-I’m stuck!” 

        “Come on..!” 

        “This is why we never climbed down the mountain in the first place.” 

        Frisk looked up when he heard these words, the boy currently aiding Via as she tried to feel around the rocks. What made it harder was the fact that Frisk had noticed Via was always squinting, and he recognized that gesture well: She needed glasses. In short, Frisk had lent the taller child his own glasses, and while they did help, it wasn’t exactly enough. 

        “Okay, uh, this should be the next step- Ah!” The boy cried out as he made a misstep, sliding down the mountain. He instinctively latched onto the nearest solid object; however, that object was Via, who cried out and began clinging to the ledge she’d held onto earlier, trying to steady herself before even attempting to pull up the Latino child. 

        “Frisk!” cried Toriel as she hurried over, dropping the few supplies she’d been carrying as she and the others tried to make their way over. 

        “Pull him up!” Via grunted, her grip beginning to slip. They were just lucky the others didn’t have to be told twice, or rather Toriel didn’t have to. 

        Quickly, the goat woman reached down and grabbed Frisk’s arms, making sure to be gentle yet having a firm grip as she pulled the boy up, thus allowing Via to devote her time hugging the side of the mountain. 

        “My child! Are you alright?! And where are your glasses?! You know you can’t see as well without them!” The monster then looked over the edge to see if the boy had lost them. 

        “M-Miss Toriel…” Gabriel interrupted softly, lightly tugging on Toriel’s robe to get her attention. “I-I think Via has them…” 

        Turning to Via, Toriel could indeed see the round-rimmed glasses sitting on the child’s terrified face. This then prodded the woman to remember what the child had looked like upon arrival to the Underground: She’d carried glasses with her, glasses very similar to Frisk’s current ones. Of course. How could this have slipped her mind? The poor child’s eyesight was probably worse than Frisk’s. 

        “Ah, I see. You gave them to Via to help her see, am I right?” questioned Toriel gently, Frisk brushing his clothes off before nodding with a small, “Yeah.” 

        “Those round things? What do they do anyway?” Daya asked with a frown as Vera tried to reach up and take the glasses off despite Via’s protests. 

        “They help you see better,” Frisk explained, watching as Via finally got an upset Vera to leave the glasses alone. “I can sort of see without them, but I have to squint to see.” 

        “Ohh- Via squints a lot. We have to get Gabriel to lead her around sometimes,” said Daya in an almost condescending manner. 

        “Can we go now?!” Once again, an impatient huff from Austin interrupted the conversation, the boy staring down the cliffside while keeping his distance from the ledge. It was obvious he wanted to climb down himself, but after nearly falling in the beginning, he’d been heavily relying on Toriel to help him down. 

        “In a moment, Austin. Please be patient,” the monster chided as she then approached Via and began to slowly coax her into letting go of the ledge. 

        “This is taking forever…” the cyan-clothed boy mumbled, Gabriel seeing the impatient frown on his face and approaching his friend. 

        “D-Don’t worry! We’ll m-move soon! Once Via’s n-not scared, I think-” he said with a hopeful tone of voice, the boy then looking back over at the fearful twelve-year-old. 

        “Not soon enough,” Austin replied as he crossed his arms and stared down the mountainside. They were so close to the ground. So close. He could probably climb down the rest of the way with Gabriel. However, Gabriel was wearing a sheet, which made it harder for him to do such things, and while Austin wasn’t in a sheet, the sweater he’d been wearing was extremely baggy, so that didn’t help. He felt as though things wouldn’t be safe until Toriel came back over to help him. 

        Gabriel, still unsure of how to cheer up his friend, began fumbling a bit more with his words. “W-Well they’re a-almost done! T-That’s good, r-right?” 

        “Come on, Via! Even Flare’s not scared!” the frustrated voice of Vera criticized, only to be followed by a, “Child, that wasn’t very nice!” from Toriel. 

        “They don’t sound like they’re hurrying up,” huffed the brunette boy yet again as he began messing with his flower crown. 

        Eventually, after about five minutes or so, Via did release herself from the rocky outcropping, though she was still incredibly nervous about climbing down the rest of the way. She decided Frisk wasn’t a good enough leader either and instead allowed Gabriel to try and lead her around, just like she normally did. 

        “Frisk, are you sure you’ll be alright without your glasses?” asked Toriel in concern as the boy once again began climbing down, this time with some of the lighter equipment. 

        “Yeah! I’m fine!” Frisk promised, this time being extra careful with his footing. He was just glad they’d all made it down the mountain in one piece, though now came for another part: Transporting them to the city. 

        “What’s that thing?” Vera questioned, pointing towards the blue SUV parked right at the base of the mountain. 

        “It looks like a box with wheels,” Via observed, once again adjusting the glasses in an attempt to see better. 

        “That? Oh. That’s a car. You use it to get to places faster,” Frisk replied, though he seemed almost puzzled by the question; they really did have terrible amnesia if none of them knew what a car was. After all, cars had been around since the 2000’s, and he guaranteed that they’d seen at least one car on the surface when they were alive. 

        When the older boy began helping Toriel place their shovels and such into the car, some of the children of course came to investigate. Via, now with Vera’s help, approached the strange vehicle with curiosity as well as caution. They had never seen something like this before, though while Flare and Gabriel kept their distance, the others had decided that this thing probably wasn’t dangerous. 

        “Wow. This is really hard,” Vera commented as she knocked on the car door a bit. 

        “And shiny,” mused Daya, admiring the glinting metal. 

        “The durability of this car is high… This would be perfect material for our shelter.” Via’s own comment ended up making her frown as she turned and tried to look back up the mountain. While her eyesight was still pretty poor she could still see the steep brown blur that was Mount Ebott. Despite the fact that she’d told the others they would return once they’d gathered supplies, could they really climb back up there? It was already a miracle Frisk had made it up and down the mountain in one piece, especially the trip down without his glasses. 

        “Durability?” Frisk tapped Via’s shoulder and stared up at her in slight confusion. “You know how to use that word but you don’t know what a car is?” 

        Via didn’t understand what the big deal was. She’d never seen a car before, so what was the problem? “Yes? Why?” 

        All Frisk could do was slowly reply with a, “Just wondering-” before Toriel opened the driver’s side of the vehicle. 

        “Hey it opens here too!” Vera exclaimed; she seemed fascinated by this car, though don’t think for a second she’d forgotten the potential dangers of such an unknown device. 

        “Of course, my child. I opens in other places too.” As if on cue, Toriel unlocked the other doors with the flip of a switch, a sound emanating from the car, startling Daya and Vera to the point they’d jumped back, though only Daya ended up falling over due to the noise as well as almost getting hit by Vera. 

        At their reactions, Frisk couldn’t help but laugh a little before opening one of the doors to the backseat, revealing a row of seats that would allow three people in the back. 

        “Don’t worry! Mom just unlocked the door!” However, when Frisk took a look inside, he frowned slightly when he noticed that it was possible not everyone could fit… He was determined to get everyone to fit. “Hold on- Mom, do you think we can fit everyone? I think we’re a seat short-” 

        The monster then took a look inside and frowned, noticing that there were only six seats total. “Oh dear… I hadn’t prepared for this. We appear to be two seats short.” 

        “Does that mean we have to stay here now? Cause there is no way we’re splitting up,” Vera firmly stated, Via sighing ever so slightly as she peered inside. 

        “Wait- We’re going to ride in it?!” Flare suddenly made her presence known from the back of the group, though after her outburst she shrank down into her clothes in embarrassment. 

        “Yeah? It’s fun though! I promise! And warm,” Frisk added, remembering how the only reason the children were even cooperating was because of the promise they’d made. “We just gotta figure out how to fit everyone… Hmm...” 

        Frisk then jogged around the car, opening up the other two doors as he tried to get a good overview of the car. The others, however, stayed back to watch in confusion as he did this, Toriel also rather puzzled. “My child, what are you doing?” 

        “Hold on, Mom. I’ve almost got it,” the Latino promised before finally stopping in front of them. “Okay! Mom’s obviously in the front seat, and I’m riding shotgun-” 

        “How do you ride a shotgun?” 

        “What even is a shotgun?” 

        “Not that kind of shotgun, and it’s not really important-” Frisk replied to Daya and Flare before continuing, “Now, we need to fit you guys in, and I have a grrrrreat idea!” 

        Some of the children exchanged glances before listening in as Frisk began to talk yet again. 

        “Via’s the tallest, so she sits in the middle. Then, Austin and, uh, the other boy in the sheet-” 

        “Gabriel-” 

        “-Gabriel will share that seat, and Flare and Vera will share the other seat.” 

        “What about me?” Daya questioned with a frown, her arms crossed as Frisk answered, “You sit in the middle seat up front with me and Mom!” 

        As Toriel began to examine Frisk’s plan by imagining everyone in Frisk’s assigned seats, the six fallen children then began to speculate on their arrangements. Most were rather content with where they’d been positioned, mainly because they were close to their best friends and partners. Flare and Daya, however, were not satisfied, especially Daya; while Flare at least got to sit with the other souls, Daya was stuck up front with Frisk and Toriel, and that didn’t quite sit well with her. 

        “Hmm… I think this might work. Get inside and buckle up, children. Then I’ll drive you home and provide you all with food and proper clothing,” Toriel promised as she beckoned Daya over so she could set up the strange middle seat up at the front. 

        “Do I have to?” whined the Latina as she looked back at Via for an answer. 

        “Come on, Daya. You shouldn’t be harmed,” Via told her, Vera suddenly chiming in with a, “And if you’re hurt, we can take em!” 

        “Not in my car,” Toriel warned, her voice firm. She’d just gotten a car she could actually fit into, and she wasn’t planning on having it get ruined. 

        “Whatever,” Vera muttered as she and the others piled in, Frisk helping them get set up as Toriel buckled in Daya. 

        Once everyone was buckled in, they were off to the city, the journey of the six souls having only just begun.


	5. The Bittersweet Taste of Pie

The drive to the city hadn’t been all that pleasant, seeing as every bump and turn gave the souls more than enough reasons to panic. Via luckily was able to keep the four in her care at bay, though Frisk sometimes had trouble with Daya, especially when she accidentally turned on some music when messing with the dashboard. It was a miracle Toriel didn’t get into a wreck, but having handled rowdy children before, she could handle this. Luckily the six all ended up getting sidetracked by the sights, buildings as tall as the sky itself towering over them and everything else. Everywhere, people walked, and cars of all different sizes and colors drove alongside them. It was almost overwhelming, but at least Via and Frisk were there to try and keep down any potential panic.

        Eventually, Toriel turned and drove up a little driveway that lead to a light purple home, flowers of all different shapes and colors growing out front. Those little flowers instantly caught little Austin’s attention, and once the goat monster went to let them out, the boy jumped down and ran to the flowerbed. 

        “So many colors!” he exclaimed happily, picking a few for himself as the other children began marveling at the structure the flowers were planted near. 

        “This place is huge!” 

        “So this is where Outsiders live..?” 

        “Why can’t we build something like this?!” 

        “It’s so l-loud here-” 

        Despite his desire to run over to his friend, Gabriel was too intimidated by the sheer existence of such a metropolis and decided to stay by Via’s side, the boy planning on using his job of typically guiding Via around as an excuse. However, this terrain was definitely not as rocky as the mountain’s; even though the driveway sloped, the ground was flat. Best part was, the glasses were a lot more helpful now that she was simply looking over a structure rather than examining every single crevice in Mt. Ebott’s rocky outcropping. She could actually see the house really well, and that prodded her to smile slightly for a few seconds. 

        “Do you like it?” asked Frisk, looking over at Via and grinning; he’d caught her small smile. 

        “The structure is impressive, but not as impressive as the city inside the mountain,” she replied before walking over to where Vera currently was with Daya, examining the supposed entrance. 

        “I think we’re supposed to pull this thing?” Daya suggested, pointing at a circular door knob. 

        “Well apparently not, cause it didn’t open!” Vera snapped, banging on the door yet again. 

        “Children! Don’t bang on the door!” Toriel called to them in a firm voice, the monster currently preoccupied with Flare as she tried to get the unnerved child to exit the vehicle. 

        “I got it, Mom!” yelled Frisk as he jingled his adoptive mother’s keychain and made a beeline for the door, the boy weaving his way through the small group of kids before inserting the proper key into the lock. 

        “Miss Monster Lady! Frisk stabbed the door!” Daya tattled as she crossed her arms in a pout, the child not understanding a simple lock-and-key function. “No- It’s okay!” And with that, the Latino kid opened the door, warm air making its way to the entrance as it invited them all inside. 

        “C-Can we go in?” asked Gabriel softly, though Austin and Vera beat him to it as they quickly moved inside, Austin hugging his newly picked flowers while Vera stretched out her arms as if to soak up the warmth. 

        “Yeah! Don’t go too far inside though, cause Mom might get mad if we track too much dirt into the house,” Frisk advised, though his attention was diverted back towards the van, where Flare and Toriel still resided as the monster attempted to remove the child from the vehicle. “…I think one of you should go help Mom get Flare out of the car.” 

        This earned a small huff from Daya, who rolled her green eyes as she replied with an, “I got it,” and walked back over to the car. Within a few mere minutes, Flare had allowed Daya to lead her out of the vehicle and into the house, the child still refusing to get all that near Toriel as she followed behind them. 

        “Welcome to my home, young ones,” Toriel said to the six, watching as they all stopped to look at her. “But, before you can adventure much further. You will all need a good bath-” 

        “What’s a bath?” questioned a curious Daya, causing Frisk to snort as he placed a hand over his mouth in order to suppress giggles. However, that was cut short when a sharp, “Who’s there?!” cut through the welcoming atmosphere, causing some of the children to jump while Frisk’s eyes widened. 

        “Hold on, Flowey!” Frisk called before quickly jogging off, though Toriel stopped him before he could do so. 

        “Frisk, while you’re in there, be sure to find six extra outfits for the others,” the monster advised, Frisk giving her a quick, “Yes ma’am!” before dashing to his room. 

        “What was that?!” Vera demanded, raising the slingshot she’d brought with her while Flare raised her fists and backed up slightly. 

        “That was our other resident,” Toriel informed the children before looking over each of them. All of them desperately needed a bath, though she couldn’t figure out who needed it the most. She eventually settled on Austin, for he seemed to be fonder of her than the others. “Austin, sweetie, would you like to bathe first? I’ll put your flowers somewhere safe.” 

        The little boy glanced up at Toriel once she said his name before looking back down at the flowers he was currently hugging, still marveling at all the many different colors in his hands. “Can I get them back?” He was curious as to what a bath was, but more than anything he just wanted to explore this strange new place; everything was so new and roomy here. 

        “Of course, my child,” the monster promised, only to get interrupted by the sound of pattering feet as Frisk dashed out of his room and straight into the bathroom, the same strange voice from earlier barking, “For the love of fudge, Frisk slow down!” 

        “I got the clothes!” Frisk informed as he poked his head out of the bathroom, the boy waving as he walked out entirely and then headed back into his room. “…That was weird,” Daya mused, watching as Toriel gently began leading Austin to the room Frisk had initially run into. 

        It didn’t take long for the twelve year old to once again make an appearance, though this time he was carrying a yellow flower with him. This potted plant, however, was no ordinary flower. Unlike normal flowers, this one had a face, and when it spoke, it was obvious he was the voice from earlier. 

        “Well that’s what you get when you hang around Frisk. Pure freaking weirdness,” the flower grumbled before eying the children. “Now who are you and why are you here?! There’s no way Frisk has this many friends-” 

        “Flowey, be nice!” Frisk whined, upset with the flower’s tone as well as his words. “They’ve never been in a place like this before, so we should make them feel welcome.” 

        “Yeesh. Looks like they came out of the woods.” 

        “That’s cause we did come out of the woods!” Vera snapped, her arms crossed over her dirty sheet. 

        While most of the kids didn’t move from their spots, Via ended up deciding to take a closer look, mainly because of her eyesight of course. Adjusting her borrowed glasses, she squinted at the flower. “Strange. Flowers don’t talk. Then again, after this day, I shouldn’t be surprised.” 

        “It’s been six months of freedom and you humans are still contemplating it?!” Flowey seemed very much snappy, but he was more or less confused on why these children were even here. He didn’t recognize any of them, and while he knew Toriel was a schoolteacher, he also knew that no city kid ever dressed like this, or looked this dirty. 

        “Flowey, please…?” Frisk pleaded, turning the pot around as he gave the soulless flower a puppy-eyed look. Eventually, with a shake of his head, the flower caved. “…Fine, Frisk, though you might want to follow the little runt before he gets lost. Kid went into the kitchen.” 

        “Little runt? Look who’s talking, short-stack!” Vera hissed, though the rest of the kids frowned and looked around to see who he’d been talking about. 

        “Do you mean Austin?” Via questioned, glancing back at the flower. 

        “Wait- There’s another short kid I don’t know about?!” 

        “Flowey hasn’t seen Austin yet,” Frisk informed. 

        “There are six of you then?!” 

        “Maybe we should go check the kitchen. That’s where Flowey said he went-” 

        After interrupting Flowey, it was rather fitting for Frisk to be cut off by another noise as well, though instead of a person talking, it was the sound of something metal hitting the ground alongside a loud splat! This prompted everyone to investigate the strange noise, though only Frisk and Flowey knew what had just happened. 

        “The pie!” The two yelled at the same time, Frisk quickly rushing into the kitchen before the other kids could block him out. 

        Just as the two had suspected, on the ground was a smashed pie, and right beside it, the one curly-haired child they’d been looking for. 

        “Gabriel!” Vera barked, causing the boy to flinch and raise his sheet up to his face a bit. 

        “He was trying to steal the pie-thing!” Daya accused, pointing at the splattered treat as she gave him an upset glare. 

        “Who cares what it’s called! He was stealing food! I mean look at that!” The small blonde pointed at the pie, her blue eyes narrowed at him angrily. “You should really stop stealing food,” Flare mused, though she didn’t really say it loud enough for Gabriel to hear. 

        “Guys, guys! Calm down!” Just in case Vera or anyone else tried to hurt the poor boy, Frisk stood in front of him with a pleading look on his face. “We can work something out- That’s only the second pie Mom made! See?” The boy then pointed to yet another pie on the countertop, one that had been a little too far back for the small boy to reach. “Besides, that one was the snail pie. You don’t wanna eat that-” 

        Gabriel, who had actually been prepared to scoop some of the pie up off the floor, suddenly leaped away from it, wiping his hands on his sheet with a scrunched up face. 

        “Ew!” Daya backed away from the pie as she did the same thing Gabriel had done, Vera and Flare also cringing as they kept their distance from the no-longer-desired pie. However, all Via did was frown as she gave Frisk a strange look. “You eat snails?” 

        “Me? Ew- No- Mom does. Monsters sometimes have their own treats they like eating, and Mom’s is, well, snail pie, or anything with snails really.” Frisk replied, Flowey smacking Frisk’s arm with his leaves in order to get his attention. 

        “Hey! You might not like snail pie, but I do! Put me down!” snapped the flower, Frisk sighing softly as he set the flower pot down right next to the pie after flipping the pie pan back over. He then watched as Flowey seemed to attempt dusting off any potential dirt before taking a massive bite of the smashed pie, the boy eventually leaving Flowey to it while he walked over and grabbed the one pie he knew everyone would like. 

        “Now this is the pie I really like. Butterscotch-cinnamon pie! It’s really good! I’ll cut slices!” exclaimed the boy happily as he set the pie at the center of the floor and began rummaging through the kitchen drawers. “Now, where are the knives… Aha!” 

        With a happy smile, the boy pulled a knife out of one of the drawers, though it wasn’t exactly a lethal knife; it was a regular, dull piece of silverware that was used for cutting simple things, or in this case a pie. This knife proved its worth when Frisk successfully divided the pie up into eight slices, trying to make them as even as possible. 

        “I’m gonna go get some plates and forks!” he told them, only to gather questioning stares from the group. “…Wait- Don’t tell me- You don’t know what a fork is.” 

        “Or plates-” Flare piped up, though she quickly went silent afterwards. 

        Sighing softly, Frisk quickly put up the knife and retrieved the forks and plates, passing them out to everyone as he began teaching the kids basic rules when it came to table manners. However, it was obvious they were bored; they just wanted to dig into the delicious pie, and he couldn’t say he blamed them. Gathering up the plates and forks, the boy dished out slices of pie to the kids until everyone had one. It didn’t take long for them to dig in, even if some of them didn’t even attempt to use their forks. 

        “This stuff is amazing!” exclaimed Daya before biting off another chunk of the pie. “What is this called again?” 

        “Butterscotch-cinnamon pie,” Frisk replied after swallowing some of the treat himself, the boy chuckling at how amazed everyone seemed to be over the existence of such a treat. 

        “We never had anything like this on the mountain,” Flare commented, licking some of the pie off her fingers. 

        Frisk was definitely satisfied. Everyone seemed happy, and he knew once Austin was done with his bath, he’d most likely enjoy eating the pie too. But something snapped him out of these happy thoughts, something he found to be a little concerning. Via wasn’t eating. 

        On the taller girl’s plate was a half-eaten slice of the pie, so it was obvious that she did eat some. But the way she was sitting, the way she was looking at it… It almost looked like she was sick. 

        “…Via, are you okay-” Frisk didn’t get to finish his sentence as the child suddenly doubled over, instantly heaving up the pie as she used a hand to beat on her chest a bit, trying to get the rest of it out. But it didn’t stop there. 

        Once Via had a negative reaction to it, the others began to panic and instantly put down their slices, all running to try and help their companion, who now appeared to be wheezing and grabbing at her throat, almost as if she couldn’t breathe. 

        “Via?! Via!” Daya shrieked in panic, Vera whipping around angrily at Frisk with her fork in hand as she shouted, “You poisoned her!” 

        “I-I didn’t!” Frisk yelled, though luckily, he knew what to do in a situation like this. He’d practiced this drill so many times at school, just in case something like this happened. However, his mother was upstairs and Via obviously didn’t have an Epi-pen, so there was only one other thing he really could do. 

        Hearing Toriel rush downstairs, the boy sprang into action as he yanked out his phone, dialing as fast as he could. “911?! Send help! My friend- I think my friend is dying!”


	6. Reality's Touch

Everything was a blur after eating the pie. All Via could remember were panicked screams and shouts, and maybe something about being lifted up by someone. Now she was floating, floating in a strange, black void, nothing in sight, though with her eyesight, that was rather normal. However, this blackness, this endless abyss… It was almost suffocating.

        Then everything hit her at once. 

        Suddenly, pictures and scenes filled the void, startling the poor girl as she tried to make sense of it all. It all went by in a blur, but she tried her best to make sense of the sudden chaos, even if her efforts were futile. First two people appeared, towering above her, the one man there smiling as she heard them mumble what sounded like her name. She felt like they were important, but didn’t know how they were, and she didn’t have time to speculate on them when she was plunged through even more visions. Faces and places all blurred together, and she didn’t recognize hardly any of it, until she saw a more familiar face… 

        There was Toriel. At least, she figured it was Toriel. No, it had to be her. There was no other goat-person she knew, and the other two in the painting in the underground city didn’t match her attire. It was a blur of purple, Toriel, and then suddenly white. Everything felt cold. Why did it feel so cold? 

        Then came the blue and black, splashing through the water. Where was she? The child didn’t know, nor did she have time to speculate, for now she was running, shouts coming from behind her. The fear was overwhelming. Make it stop! Make it stop…! Now she was hiding. She had to be hiding. She wasn’t moving, but the yelling was still there, even if Via couldn’t make any of it out. The child was too focused on unwrapping a pie. 

        A pie… 

        The same one she had eaten. There it was. It looked a little smashed, but there it was. It looked like she was about to take a bite of it. No. No no no. 

        Via remembered the recent pain she’d felt when she’d eaten that pie at Toriel’s house. The pain in her stomach, the inability to breathe, the echoing shouts of her friends as they tried to figure out what to do. ‘Don’t eat it!’ she shrieked, but nothing worked. She ate the butterscotch-cinnamon pie, fear coursing through her veins. 

        The child felt the same pain she had gone through earlier, the symptoms all the same as before, except now with more fear. She didn’t know if the fear was her own, or if it was being enforced by the simulations, but it was effective nonetheless. 

        She was terrified. 

        Her eyes flew open, suddenly blinded by the light. She didn’t know where she was. Where was this place?! Where are her friends?! Air. She needed air. She needed air quick! 

        There was stuff on her, some strange rubbery stuff. The child ripped it off, and a strange flat beeping sound filled the room, suddenly accompanied by the sounds of yelling and screaming, the screaming coming from the poor panicked girl. 

        “Help!” she cried, trying to make sense of it all. She could breathe, but at the same time, she couldn’t. She was too scared. So many questions yet no answers. “Vera! Gabriel! Somebody help me!” 

        Someone grabbed her arms and she fought back, desperately calling for her friends as she tried to free herself from her captors. 

        It was only when a sudden pain went through her arm till everything went black once more.  
  
  
  
“I still don’t understand the issue here,” said Toriel, her hands folded neatly in front of her in a relaxed yet formal manner. Beside her stood Frisk, his brown eyes trained on the woman in front of them with concern as well as what appeared to be suspicion on his face. They were no longer at the house, of course. They were somewhere else, a place Frisk didn’t like visiting. But, it seemed he could never avoid this place and would have to deal with it once again. 

        “The issue, Miss Dreemurr, is the simple truth that the children are not yours. You had no right to take them in like that and not notify us. You know the rules,” chided the woman, giving the monster a smile, though Frisk could swear it was fake. 

        “Indeed I do, Mrs. Ryan, but these children needed immediate attention. I couldn’t just leave them out there,” Toriel replied, trying her best to get the woman to understand. 

        “Out there?” questioned the one known as Mrs. Ryan, her head tilting ever so slightly. “What do you mean by that?” 

        “We found them in the mountains,” Frisk piped up, still sticking by Toriel’s side. “They were hungry and cold and dirty, so we took them home to help them.” He made sure to sound as innocent and sincere as possible, which he was in all honesty. This was the truth. He and Toriel knew it was the truth. But unlike Toriel, he knew the games people like Mrs. Ryan liked to play. 

        “What Frisk says is correct. I was actually finishing up bathing one of them when… Well…” The monster’s gaze faltered at the thought of poor Via, Mrs. Ryan taking immediate advantage of her guilty conscience. 

        “Exactly,” stated the woman, feeling no sympathy for the former queen. “I know you meant well, but things like this are why we encourage you to call us as soon as possible. By calling us, we can help these kids sooner and identify them if they’re missing, allowing us to return them to their families or put them in good homes.” 

        “Well yeah, but doing that to them won’t help. It’ll just scare them,” Frisk pointed out with a small frown. “And it wasn’t Mom’s fault she got into the pie. I gave it to them. Mom didn’t do anything wrong.” 

        The woman of course, simply gave Frisk a small look. It was very vague, but Frisk didn’t like it, and he certainly didn’t like what she said next. “That may be true, Frisk, but I think you both know that had you called Child Protective Services or the police or anyone, your friend wouldn’t be in the hospital.” 

        Frisk tried to think of something to say in response, yet he knew she was right, in a way. Personally he saw this all as his fault. He should’ve asked Toriel before giving them the pie; she would’ve remembered if any of them had allergies. 

        “I understand,” Toriel replied, though her gaze was no longer on the social worker. They were now downcast a bit, filled with guilt. Maybe she should have called these people; after all, it was their job to manage runaway and orphaned youth. 

        Eventually, Frisk decided to speak up, deciding that allowing the woman to speak again would probably not be the best decision. “So when are we allowed to leave? We still need to get them cleaned up-” 

        “Oh you two are permitted to leave at any time. The children, however, are staying here.” 

        Those words didn’t sit well with either of the Dreemurrs, Toriel giving her an alarmed look as she suddenly blurted, “What?! What do you mean? When adopting Frisk, you allowed him to stay in my home without any problems-” 

        “That was Frisk. We knew who Frisk was as well as his background, and he was perfectly comfortable in your presence. However, we don’t know anything about these children, and when you arrived, none of the children seemed to trust either of you. Thank you for your help, but we’ll take it from here,” she promised, Toriel watching and listening with a still very much stunned look on her face. That couldn’t be right. Not all the kids were wary of her. Austin practically followed her around now along with Gabriel; the only reason any of them were still jumpy were not only because of trust issues, but because of their friend. 

        Frisk of course, also knew the woman’s words were false, and he wasn’t at all happy with this. “Well what are you gonna do? Just drop them off at an orphanage or something? Or are you gonna separate all of them and put them in random foster homes, cause it’s not going to work,” the boy questioned, giving the social worker a well-placed glare. 

        “Frisk, I understand your concerns-” 

        “No you don’t!” Frisk snapped, seething in anger, but he knew he wasn’t the only one angry here. He didn’t, however, try to stop these emotions. “You obviously don’t understand because you’re doing everything you can to keep them apart! If you did understand then you’d allow Toriel to care for them like she did me!” 

        “Frisk-” 

        “You know she’s a good mother! She even passed your stupid adoption test when she was adopting me!” 

        “Frisk, calm down-” 

        “No Mom! No! You know what I think about this whole thing?! I think the reason you won’t let Toriel foster them is because she’s a monster!” 

        “That’s enough!” Toriel’s inevitable outburst took the boy by surprise, the Latino looking back up at his adoptive mother with a frown. However, he did desist, simply because the aggression fueling his outburst was no longer there, mostly. But that didn’t exactly stop him from shooting Mrs. Ryan a very much mistrusting glare. 

        “I’m sorry for my son’s behavior. He’s usually such a sweet boy,” Toriel apologized, giving the woman an embarrassed yet compliant look. 

        “That’s quite alright,” the social work replied, though her tone of voice indicated that it indeed wasn’t as fine as she made it out to be. “Now, since everything has been sorted out, you and your son are free to leave if you wish-” 

        Suddenly, a nearby door swung open as a small child darted out of the door and into the room, only to take refuge behind Toriel the second they spotted her. The child, Frisk noticed, was Gabriel, the boy currently crying into her dress as she knelt down to try and sooth him. 

        “Ma’am! That child is not-” 

        “Hold on! Let her at least calm him down!” Frisk interrupted, noticing another woman had made it to the doorway. From what he could tell, she seemed to have been chasing the poor boy down the hallway, which made him wonder how the others were reacting to the social workers handling them. 

        “I was just trying to get him into some clothes, but he wouldn’t even bother putting them on!” explained the social worker as she began speaking to Mrs. Ryan. 

        “Whatever. We’ll get him into some clothes eventually. How are the other children doing-” Before Mrs. Ryan could finish her sentence, Vera suddenly burst through one of the doors in the hallway while swiftly dodging some hands that flew out and tried to grab her. “Where are my friends?!” she shrieked, only to spot some familiar faces and sprint into the room everyone else was in with yet another social worker on her tail. 

        Once Gabriel’s social worker caught wind of Vera, she turned and tried to block the child’s way, though that didn’t stop the blonde as she simply dive-rolled underneath her before getting up and running over to Frisk, Toriel, and Gabriel. Frisk, of course, expected her to maybe hug Gabriel, but instead she ended up racing over and shoving him. 

        “ _You!_ ” she snarled, only to try and throw a punch at him. However, Frisk was ready and dodged, even if he was still baffled by her behavior. “This is all your fault!” 

        Another punch, another dodge. “No! You misunderstand! We didn’t mean for this to happen!” Frisk cried, backing away from the angry child. 

        “Yeah right! You totally didn’t poison Via on purpose!” she snarled, though before she could take another shot at Frisk, she was grabbed roughly by the arm. 

        “Vera! Calm down this instant! This behavior is intolerable!” Toriel scolded, clearly angry with the child’s behavior. Unfortunately, Vera wasn’t in the mood to cooperate. 

        “Let go of me!” the blonde shouted as she tried to pull away, though Toriel’s grip was much stronger than she had anticipated. 

        “Not until you calm down!” Seeing as it was very obvious to Vera that she would be unable to escape the monster’s grip, she simply glared deeply at Toriel, yet the goat woman’s gaze never phased. 

        “Vera…” Gabriel had decided to speak up, simply because he felt as though the girl’s rash behavior would only result in a fate even worse for them. “We have to work together, o-or we’ll never see Via again…” 

        Those words were enough to give Vera the nudge to cooperate, the blonde giving Toriel and Frisk each one final glare before allowing her arm to go limp. 

        “There you go. That wasn’t so hard, was it?” asked Toriel, Vera very much tempted to say something though one pleading look from Gabriel prompted her not to. 

        Meanwhile, Frisk’s attention had currently shifted to the three social workers, who from what he could tell were talking about the two new children in the room. The boy guessed by the newest one’s expression that Vera had been very hard to deal with, though it didn’t surprise him that the angry child was a problem for them. They were all incredibly close to the door too, just in case another kid got out, and rightly so, for yet another door was opened. 

        Zooming out of the room as quickly as he could was Austin, the boy no longer sporting the same dirty rags he’d been wearing earlier. Instead, he was sporting one of Frisk’s sweaters as well as some of his shorts, which were a bit too big for him, yet he managed well. 

        “Hey! Come back here!” the social worker behind him yelled, quickly grabbing the boy and picking him up. Instantly, the child began yelling in panic, attracting everyone in the room at the end of the hallway. 

        “Austin!” Vera and Gabriel shouted, Vera instantly kicking into action as she sprinted towards her friend. Unfortunately, one of the social workers by the hallway entrance grabbed her before she could race past, which instantly caused the child to fight back tooth and nail. 

        “ _Let go of me!_ ” Vera screeched, doing everything she could to free herself. The two other social workers tried their best to get involved, grabbing her other arm as well as trying to keep the child from hurting themselves as well as their colleague. 

        It didn’t take long for Toriel to rush to the rescue, leaving Gabriel to run and hide behind Mrs. Ryan’s desk while Frisk ran past the social workers and into the hallway, opening the last two doors to find the last remaining souls. In the first room was Daya, crying in a corner while occasionally moving away from her social worker whenever she got too close. In the second was Flare, who seemed to be locked in a boxing pose and lashing out whenever her worker got too close. However, the second her door opened, Flare made a break for it and bulldozed right past Frisk and, seeing the other ways more or less blocked off, dashing into Daya’s room. 

        Quickly righting himself and recovering from Flare’s shove, the boy took notice of Toriel as she recovered a crying Austin from his worker’s arms, only to then witness Vera claw her way to freedom and practically launch herself at the worker that had been initially holding Austin. 

        “Leave him alone!” she shrieked, the man instantly shielding himself from her claw-like nails before quickly grabbing her hands and holding them at her side. While that didn’t stop her from attempting to lash out, Toriel taking a firm hold on the child’s shoulder and moving her back did turn her attention away from him. 

        “Vera, he’s no longer a threat. I have Austin here safe and sound. You should go find the rest of your friends,” chided the goat woman, though there was a firmness in her voice that indicated she expected obedience. Unfortunately for Vera, she really couldn’t argue with her logic and therefore nodded begrudgingly before taking off into the other room, where Flare and Daya currently resided. 

        “Frisk, I’m going to need you to take Austin and Gabriel to that room,” Toriel instructed, pointing to the one Vera had just run into as she set the sniffling child down. 

        “Got it,” Frisk stated, nodding in acknowledgement as he took Austin’s hand and quickly moved the boy to the room. Once inside, the boy quickly raced over towards Daya, who was still crying in the corner, which left Vera and Flare in some sort of weird boxing match with now three out of six social workers. It was a strange sight to say the least, but the boy couldn’t stick around and watch; he still had to find Gabriel. 

        Luckily for Frisk, Gabriel wasn’t all that hard to find. The boy was basically being chased by the same worker that had been in charge of him from earlier, though she was still trying to gently approach him despite clearly being frustrated by his lack of cooperation. 

        “Hey Gabriel!” called Frisk, his hands around to get the child’s attention. 

        Once the curly-haired boy took notice of Frisk, he quickly dashed over and hid behind the older kid, who then lead him to the room. Like Austin, Gabriel took cover with Daya and Austin, leaving Frisk to attempt to calm the chaos. It took him a moment to think about what he would do, though soon he saw a good way to get everyone’s attention and put his plan into action. 

        Climbing onto the one table in the center of the room, Frisk shouted, “ _Stop!_ ” as loud as he could, which of course got everyone’s attention. 

        “What are you doing on the table- You could hurt yourself!” one of the workers scolded. 

        “ _They_ attacked _first!_ ” Vera emphasized with a glare. “Flare was fighting one of them when I first got in here!” 

        “Well stop fighting because it’s not solving any problems!” Frisk snapped, only to take a moment to calm down before sighing. “Look at what’s happening here. They’re crying, you’re all fighting, and for what? To separate them again? That’s not going to solve anything- That’ll just make things worse!” He kept his eyes on the adults, though at the same time Flare and Vera. “They need to stick together, and they need someone who will be there to teach them about this place. They’ve been stuck on a mountain for who knows how long, and if they’re going to at the very least adjust to the city, they’re going to need someone they trust, and right now, the only person any of them trust here is Toriel.” 

        “I don’t trust her,” Vera muttered, only to receive a nervous look from Flare as Frisk continued on. 

        “So, let us take them home. Let us help them. Otherwise, I’m pretty sure you’re going to have a hard time keeping them apart.” Frisk stood there on the table for a few moments, giving the social workers each a look that stated he would not back down on his statement. However, finally, someone broke the tense silence, though it was the last person Frisk wanted to hear from. 

        “Thank you for that speech, Frisk, and I appreciate you calming them down, but our policy-” 

        “May I have a word?” Mrs. Ryan had been standing in the doorway when Toriel interrupted, the goat woman standing right behind her with a concerned look on her face. “In private, of course, but please. Leave the children here together. They’ll be fine with only one supervisor, so long as everyone remains calm.” 

        Little time passed as the woman stood there and thought about what to do, only to point to one worker and begin once again issuing commands. “Liz, stay here. The rest of you get back to work. I’ll deal with this.” 

        “No fighting now,” Toriel quickly reminded the group as three out of four workers exited. Afterwards, the door was shut, leaving the six kids alone with Liz. 

        “Frisk.” 

        “Yes?” The boy asked, looking towards the remaining worker. 

        It didn’t take long for him to gain a response. “Get off the table.”


	7. Visiting Via

Frisk didn’t know how long they’d been in the room, but it sure was a while in his opinion, and he knew everyone else could agree. Since Toriel and Mrs. Ryan had left, all of the souls had settled down in one corner of the room, Frisk included. All around him, everyone was doing some kind of small activity as they waited for the two women’s return. Flare was biting her nails as Daya braided the younger child’s hair, and right beside them were Austin and Gabriel, Gabriel sleeping on the other boy as he impatiently messed with his sweater. Closest to the boy was Vera, who was locked in a staring contest with Liz the social worker as she sat at the table. And lastly, there was Frisk, his own eyes locked intently on the door as he tried to accurately time the arrival of Toriel and Mrs. Ryan. However, his mind would sometimes drift off to his outburst from earlier, the anger he had felt…

        Everyone’s eyes instantly locked onto the door as it opened, Frisk suddenly shouting, “Alohomora!” much to everyone’s dismay. 

        “Aloho-whata?” questioned Daya in confusion as she looked up from Flare’s nearly-braided hair. 

        “Alohomora! It’s the unlocking spell in Harry Potter,” Frisk explained with a grin as he got to his feet and ran over to Toriel, who was standing in the doorway with Mrs. Ryan. “Mom, you’re back!” 

        The goat woman chuckled a bit as she lightly ruffled the boy’s hair, only to look out over at the other children huddled in the corner. “Mrs. Ryan has some news that I’m sure you’ll all be happy to hear.” She then turned her head to the human next to her, the social worker not seeming all that pleased to bear this information. It then became clear enough to Frisk that the decision they had reached was one that did not satisfy the worker, and because of that, the boy already felt better about this situation. 

        Clearing her throat to get the children’s attention, Mrs. Ryan spoke, “Mrs. Dreemurr and I have reached a compromise. You five will return together with Frisk and his mother for the time being, but if the house is not fit for your care, then you will be taken under the protection of Child Protection Services, for your own good.” 

        “What about Via.” Of course, Vera was the first to speak up, and it was clear she had voiced the thoughts of all the other children. “You said ‘five,’ not ‘six.’ What about Via.” 

        “Well-” 

        “Do not worry, my child. Via will also be returning to us, but only if we pass inspection,” said Toriel, accidentally cutting off an annoyed Mrs. Ryan before she could answer. Before Vera could comment, the monster made sure to add, “But, we will be seeing her shortly. I recently got a call from the hospital informing me that she is awake.” 

        “She is?!” 

        “Via’s awake?!” 

        “Well then what are we doing here?! Let’s go!” 

        The children instantly scrambled to their feet, even the still-sleepy Gabriel following behind them. Before any could rush out the door of course, social worker Liz stood up and gave everyone an order to stay put, though that didn’t stop any of them. 

        “Kids-!” 

        “Let it go, Liz.” A grumbly Mrs. Ryan was still in the room, now watching with her coworker as the children retreated with the former monster queen. “It’s not like they can evade us forever.”   
  
  
  
The car was bursting with a positive energy as Toriel drove a short ways to the local hospital, and the only time that energy remotely dissipated was when they’d reached the large building. Although it was still daunting to Gabriel and Flare, everyone knew Via was in there, and with Toriel’s help, they knew they would finally be able to see her. 

        After a confusing exchange at the Welcome Desk as well as many strange looks from doctors, they finally found it. Via’s room. 

        The brunette child didn’t have time to react when Vera suddenly shouted her name and hugged her, only to begin picking off and wires that she felt were harmful to her friend. This sent many machines out of whack, causing doctors to run in as Toriel pulled the feisty child away from the equipment. 

        “Don’t touch anything,” one nurse ordered the children, giving them all a stern look. “We need these to make sure your friend is getting better, all right?” 

        “She’s right. Don’t touch anything. Doctor’s equipment is really complicated-” Frisk advised, the other children deciding to take a less hazardous approach. 

        “Are you okay?” 

        “What happened to you?!” 

        “Did these doctor guys hurt you?” 

        “We’re here to take you home!” 

        Already Via didn’t know how to answer any of the questions, simply because they were coming too fast for the drowsy girl to decipher. She was happy to see her friends, yet her mind was on other things, from her health to her the strange visions she’d had. The child’s mind especially focused on the visions once she noticed Toriel was there, her eyes locking onto the goat woman immediately. 

        “Sorry my children, but we cannot take her home yet,” Toriel chided, gaining a few bewildered looks from the kids. 

        “Why not?!” 

        “But she’s right here!” 

        “We can’t just leave her behind-!” 

        “What’s the point in coming here then if we can’t even take her with us?” 

        This was when a doctor stepped in, once again attempting civil conversation with the five. “Your friend had something called an allergic reaction, and it was a really bad reaction too. If we let her go now, we won’t know if the medicine we gave her will help. We need to keep her here so we can make sure she’s fine. Okay?” 

        The doctor’s words, thankfully, got through to the group, though any doubts were thankfully put to rest when Via turned her attention to the group as a whole. 

        “It’s true,” she told them, rubbing her eyes. “Apparently I’m allergic to cinnamon. It wasn’t Frisk’s fault I got sick, so don’t blame him for anything.” 

        “…Wait- Why are you looking at me?!” Vera asked, Via unable to crack a small smile at the dirty-blonde child. 

        As the children began speaking to their hospitalized friend, Toriel began speaking to the same doctor over Via’s current predicament, and on behalf of all the other children as hell. 

        “I understand you’ve spoken with Child Services over the children,” the doctor remarked, Toriel looking towards her once again and nodding. 

        “I have, and it’s been determined that they will be staying with me for now,” the monster told her, which actually surprised the doctor despite the evidence being quite obvious. 

        “…Oh. Okay then. Do you know their allergies? We don’t know what reactions they might have to anything else, if the others have allergies.” The doctor seemed stunned in the beginning, but then her tone only showed concern. 

        “I don’t know them all, but they will be coming in for allergy testing,” promised Toriel, only to turn her gaze back to the children. They all seemed to be getting along well, other than some fearing the equipment or even Frisk in some cases. “Children!” 

        Toriel’s call once again grabbed the attention of the seven kids, only for Vera to speak for the group yet again. “What?” 

        “We’ll be leaving soon, so I suggest you wrap up your conversations with Via,” Toriel informed the six, only to receive a few whines and whimpers from some of the kids. 

        “What? Why? We just got here! Can’t we just stay?” whined Daya, seeming annoyed with the fact that they’d have to leave. 

        With a sigh, the goat woman shook her head and gave them all a gentle yet sad look. “I’m sorry, but we can’t stay here forever. The doctors will need to tend to Via and her condition, and we need to go home to get you all cleaned up.” 

        “But Toriel-!” 

        “Mom’s right guys. Plus we have those people to deal with now, and we’ll have to be ready for them when they do all of their stupid visits and stuff,” Frisk reminded them, only to get a bunch of surprised and fearful stares from the other children. 

        “They’re coming back?!” Flare breathed, instantly growing very tense at the thought of what had transpired earlier. 

        “Yeah, they’re coming back, and we’re gonna have to be ready for them when they do.” Unfortunately, his words seemed to be causing the others to panic more, hushed whispers being exchanged between the quieter children of the group. “But! We can make it through this. We just have to stay determined. If we’re ready and we win, Via will come home and everything will be great again!” 

        “Who are you talking about,” inquired the one and only Via, clearly puzzled by Frisk’s words. 

        “Some jerks who tried to separate everyone, but we’re not letting them do crap,” Vera clarified, only to give Toriel an annoyed look as she asked, “Are we seriously leaving now?” 

        “Yes, now come along.” Toriel had caught onto Vera’s attitude, and while she understood Vera’s pain in leaving Via behind as well as coming to such a strange place, she didn’t want to exactly deal with it. 

        “Toriel-!” 

        “Let’s just go already.” Once again, Austin had spoken up, seeming a bit bothered by Vera’s resistance. “We’ll come back later!” 

        “Austin’s right. We will come back later if we have the time, and if we don’t come back, then either way, she’ll still be coming home with us,” Toriel promised. 

        Exchanging glances, the children one by one decided to follow Toriel out of the room, but the goat woman had no time to shut the door before her name was called. 

        “Toriel wait-” Turning around, the monster stared back at Via, her olive green eyes locked right onto her. 

        “Yes?” she asked, watching the older soul with a concerned look on her face. Via looked almost distressed for some reason, though the woman couldn’t figure out why. She didn’t have time to figure out why either when Austin called for her to hurry up. “We’ll come back later for you, dear.” Toriel then moved to shut the door. “I promise.” 

        With that in mind, she left Via to herself, only for her gaze to travel to the ground of kids waiting in the hallway. Even though all of the children weren’t exactly acting accordingly in the hospital, Toriel’s focus was mainly on a certain little boy pacing in the hallway. 

        “Austin!” Toriel’s voice caused the boy to stop his pacing and look up, well, at least she assumed he was looking up at her, given the hair covering his eyes and all. 

        “Finally,” the boy murmured, though that didn’t stop Toriel from giving him a stern talking-to. 

        “What you did was very rude, telling me to hurry up like that. What happened to being patient?” said Toriel, only to sigh and lightly shake her head as the young soul fiddled with his baggy sweater before looking down. 

        “Don’t expect much from him. He’s never patient,” Vera pointed out, only to gain a few nods of agreement from her peers. This did of course strike Toriel as strange; she’d taken care of Austin the longest out of all of the children in the underground, and she knew for a fact that he’d typically been much more patient than this. Even without his memories, wouldn’t this main personality trait still show itself? 

        “Really? How odd…” Toriel mused, only to clear her throat as she got back to the task at hand. “Anyway, it is time for us to return home. Come along, children.” 

        Luckily, none of them needed to be told twice as they followed her out of the room and into the car, the five souls all piling into the back whilst Frisk and Toriel once again sat up front. The drive to the house had thankfully been less chaotic than the first few, save for the whispering in the backseat as the children shared their thoughts on Via’s condition. However, Frisk didn’t mind it, and neither did Toriel; the only one who minded anything was Flowey, who instantly began speaking the second Frisk opened the front door to the house. 

        “I can’t believe you just left me sitting here on the floor!” the flower hissed, Frisk walking over and scooping up the potted plant. 

        “Sorry, Flowey. We were in a hurry, and I didn’t know what would happen if I’d taken you along,” Frisk apologized, only to turn to Toriel once he heard her call for his attention. “Yes, Mom?” 

        “Can you prepare the couch bed and some sleeping bags for the other children? I will be upstairs bathing the rest of them and will send them down once they’re done,” Toriel informed the boy, Frisk giving her a dutiful nod. 

        “Yes, Ma’am! I’ll get right on it!” 

        “Thank you, my child.” Without further ado, Toriel then lead the four dirty souls up the stairs, leaving Austin at the bottom with Frisk. 

        “…Why are you just standing there?” questioned Austin after a minute or so. 

        “Yeah Frisk, why are you just standing there? Get to work!” Flowey shouted, instantly agreeing with the younger boy. 

        “Alright alright! I was just thinking about where Toriel hid the sleeping bags,” Frisk whined, though he did do as told and lead Austin into the living room, only to hand Austin Flowey before moving the coffee table and a few chairs out of the way. 

        As the boy continued setting everything up as well as fishing through every last closet for blankets and pillows, one by one, a child would descend from the stairs and ask what exactly was going on. At first, they all gathered on the outskirts of the living room, yet eventually took over the couch bed once it had been unfolded. 

        “I know I left these sleeping bags around here somewhere,” Frisk said to himself as he skittered up the stairs to ask Toriel for help in looking for them. Unknown to the two, the five children had already begun preparing themselves; and when both mother and son ascended from the stairs, they were welcomed by the sight of five children huddled up around each other, all fast asleep on one end of the couch bed. 

        “They didn’t feel like waiting for the sleeping bags,” said Flowey from where he’d been set on the pushed back coffee table, Toriel giving him a light shush as she continued to watch the sleeping children. They all looked so peaceful despite their new surroundings, all snuggled together while wrapped up in blankets. 

        After sending Frisk off to bed with Flowey, Toriel continued to linger for a moment, keeping a watchful eye over the five before she too headed off to sleep. However, she didn’t leave until she quietly took a picture of the five. 

        “Sweet dreams.”


	8. Spooky Scary Skeletons

For the first time since he could remember, Gabriel was actually sleeping comfortably on the couch-beg. He’d never slept on something so soft before, curled up in a warm and fleecy blanket while surrounded by his friends. The boy was at peace, though it unfortunately ended quicker than he’d anticipated.

        The shifting of the other children eventually woke the small boy, though he simply adjusted his position and tried to return to his happy place. The background noises, however, weren’t helping, and when a large thud was heard, he instantly stiffened, his eyes widening in surprise and fright. 

        “I’m okay!” yelled a familiar voice, Gabriel recognizing it as Frisk’s. 

        Sitting up, the curly-haired child rubbed his blue eyes as he took in what was happening. Practically everyone was awake at the moment, Vera and Flare peaking over the back of the couch all while Daya was entertaining herself by plopping one of the blankets onto Austin continuously. At first, he was a bit confused and began searching for Via, only to remember that she was still in the hospital recovering from the pie. It made him sad, honestly, but he couldn’t focus on that for long, not with what was happening. 

        “What are you doing?” demanded a very confused Vera as she gave Frisk a strange look. 

        “Looking for a tape measurer!” Frisk replied before zooming past them once again, the children each giving him a confused glance before someone else spoke up. 

        “He’s measuring the other room. Duh!” Flowey spoke, rolling his black eyes at the naïve kids. 

        “Measuring the other room? What?” Once again, Vera was confused; she knew what a room was as well as what measuring things were, but at the same time, she didn’t understand Frisk’s reasons as to why he was doing such a thing. 

        “Just- Whatever- I’m not gonna explain it to you idiots,” said Flowey with a sour tone. 

        “Hey!” Daya whined, Vera giving the flower a nasty glare as he simply huffed in annoyance. 

        “What? Just telling the truth,” was all Flowey said before Toriel suddenly called for them. 

        “Children! Breakfast is ready!” she called, her voice airing from the room right across from them. 

        “Breakfast-?” 

        “Food!” Frisk suddenly made a reappearance as he dashed from the hallway and into the living room, only to end up in the kitchen dining room within what appeared to be seconds. 

        “Food?” Daya suddenly questioned, each of the children exchanging glances before running after him. 

        “Wait! What about me?!” Flowey yelled, waving his leaves wildly in an attempt to get anyone’s attention. “I need food too! Someone come back here and grab me- Whoa!” 

        Turning around, the temperamental flower took notice of the one who had picked him up; Gabriel. “S-Sorry Mr. Flower-“ 

        “-Flowey.” 

        “Right- Er-” Not knowing what else to say, Gabriel quickly moved to the kitchen dining room so he could hand him to Frisk. After all, the flower really unnerved the small kid, but he knew that if he didn’t take him to the table, he’d probably just continue yelling until someone went to fetch him anyway. 

        Upon entering the room, the boy couldn’t help but stop as he took notice of all food on the table, and not just any food either. Everything was some sort of fruit or vegetable, bowls of berries scattered about while some bowls and plates of vegetables were set alongside them. There wasn’t a single baked good on the table, and that very much annoyed Flowey. 

        “What the heck?! I thought we were having pancakes!” whined the flower as Gabriel slowly handed him to Frisk. 

        “Sorry, Flowey. Mom said we’re not eating anything that might make the others sick,” Frisk told him as the soulless being was then set on the table. 

        “That’s right, Frisk. I don’t want anyone else to have to go to the hospital this week. Eat as much as you’d like, children, but don’t eat too much! We have a long day ahead of us,” Toriel remarked, a smile on her face as she watched Gabriel finally take a seat at the table. 

        “Be careful guys. We don’t wanna be poisoned-” 

        “Blackberries!” Flare’s happy outburst suddenly interrupted Vera, the girl standing up on her chair as she reached over the table to grab some. Before she did, however, she froze and looked up at Toriel, not knowing if she’d made the right decision in making the first move for food. 

        Seeing the child’s confusion, Toriel gave her an encouraging smile and nodded. “Go ahead, my child. This food is for everyone,” said the monster before picking up a few of the berries herself and eating them herself. 

        Taking this as a sign that the berries indeed weren’t poisoned like Vera tried to suggest, Flare grabbed a few and sat back down, staring at them for a few seconds before plopping one into her mouth, soon doing the same with the rest of them. 

        “…Okay maybe they aren’t all poisonous-” 

        “I don’t care I just want food!” Once again, Vera was cut off as Daya reached over and grabbed a few fruits and vegetables of her choice, everyone beginning to chow down happily. Even Vera couldn’t resist taking a bite of the food, though she did so as subtly as possible, just because she didn’t want to be proven wrong. 

        “So, Frisk dear, did you measure the rooms like I asked?” questioned Toriel as she looked over at her adoptive son, the boy giving her a thumbs up. 

        “Mhm! I think we could fit a bunk bed in my room and two bunk beds in the spare room,” he reported, only to get back to eating his food. 

        “What’re bunk beds?” inquired Daya, the other children seeming curious as well. 

        “They’re two beds stacked up onto each other,” Frisk told them, only to continue gaining stares from the others. “…You don’t know what a bed is either, don’t you.” 

        “We don’t exactly have beds in the woods,” Vera pointed out, though she let him continue to explain nonetheless. 

        “Oh. Well beds are basically used for sleeping. They’re kind of like that couch-bed you slept on, but comfier.” Once again, Frisk had seemed to amaze the children by explaining the simple joys of modern life. 

        “Even comfier than that? Wow-” Flare commented under her breath, only to continue eating as the other four exchanged glances with each other. 

        “M-Miss Toriel?” Gabriel’s voice quickly drew the goat mother’s attention, the woman asking, “Yes, child?” before allowing him to speak once again. “Um… C-Can I leave…? I-I need to do something r-real quick-” 

        All Toriel did was blink at his answer, not knowing exactly what he meant to do. “Um, sure, Gabriel! Frisk, go with him in case he needs help with whatever he needs.” 

        “Okay, Mom,” Frisk replied as he slid out of his chair and looked over at Gabriel, the boy then leading him out of the room and down the hallway. 

        “I don’t know what you need to do, but I figured I’d have to explain this at some point,” said the Latino before stepping into the bathroom. “Lemme show you how everything works.” 

        The explanation, while helpful, wasn’t exactly necessary for the little boy at the moment, though he watched anyway and nodded along, deciding he might have to use these apparently useful life skills later on. 

        “Alright! That concludes Bathroom 101. Any questions?” asked Frisk, only to gain a shake of the head from Gabriel. “Great! I’ll tell the others you’ll be back soon then!” With that, he trotted out of the room and closed the door, leaving the boy by himself. 

        Unfortunately for Frisk, that was his mistake, for once he was gone, Gabriel took a look around the room before digging a bunch of berries out of his pockets, placing them all on the table and counting each of them carefully. Eight. He’d sneaked eight off the table. 

        Knowing that leaving the bathroom would not only make him visible to the others, but also grab their attention as well, the boy knew that he could only hide the berries in this one room. Quickly, he began re-examining the room, trying to find a suitable spot to store his stolen berries. The cupboard? Too high. The bottom cabinets? Too obvious. Behind the toilet-thing? Heck no. Thank God Frisk had given him that bathroom rundown, plus that was also a too obvious hiding spot anyway. 

        Eventually, Gabriel settled on the small closet, the boy picking up a small towel and gently wrapping them up in it. Placing them in a far corner on the shelf, the child closed the closet door before opening the bathroom door, only to come face to face with Daya. 

        Oh no. 

        “Hi Gabriel. I’m just here for the bathroom-thing,” she told him, only to move past the boy and close the door on him after shooing him out of the bathroom. 

        “She knows how to work the bathroom, right Gabriel?” called Frisk from the dining room, the curly-haired boy fiddling with his baggy shorts as he murmured, “I-I guess-” Of course, Gabriel didn’t know if Frisk had heard what he’d said or not, but seeing as the older boy didn’t come to check on him, he simply assumed he did. 

        After a few minutes of waiting, Daya eventually opened the door, only for Gabriel to see that he’d been right in assuming her appearance had not been a coincidence. The girl was giving him a small smirk as she held a few berries, popping them into her mouth right in front of the poor kid. 

        “I knew you were making another stash,” she told him quietly with a snarky grin. “Tell Vera or Via when she gets back, and we’ll know who’ll get in trouble here.” 

        The younger child watched as she walked away, honestly feeling upset at the fact that he couldn’t seem to keep any of his stashes hidden from her. However, he refused to show that anything was wrong; that would tip off the others and while he could lie his way out of it, Daya would turn right around and expose him for sure. 

        Following the older girl back to the table, Gabriel took his seat and continued to eat with the few other kids still taking advantage of the food provided for them. However, it didn’t take long for him to eventually lose his appetite, and sit back waiting for the others, but before everyone could finish, another interruption occurred. 

        The sound of a doorbell startled the children, who had been quiet along with Flowey, Toriel, and Frisk the entire time. The latter two, however, seemed quite happy with this new development, Frisk practically flying out of his seat as he dashed to the door. 

        “I got it!” he called once he was outside the kitchen dining room, Flowey rolling his eyes at the boy’s excitement. 

        “What was that?” questioned Vera, the girl reaching up onto the table and grabbing a fork for a weapon. 

        “That was the doorbell, now put down the silverware. This is a friend we’re greeting, not an enemy,” Toriel chided, the dirty-blonde doing as she was told along with Flare, who too had picked up a fork for defense. 

        “A friend? I’ll be the judge of that,” declared the nine-year old as she slide off her seat and once again to take a look at the newcomer. 

        “Hey Sans! Glad you could make it!” said the cheery voice of Frisk, which ended up prompting the other children to carefully follow Vera out of the kitchen dining room. 

        “No problem, kid. Would’ve gotten here sooner if Papyrus didn’t want to try out his new ride. It’s pretty red-ical,” said a new voice, quickly followed by a few chuckles from Frisk along with a more high-pitched voice yelling, “Sans!” 

        “Redical? What does that even mean?” remarked Daya before adding, “This guy sounds dumb.” 

        “Agreed,” said Vera flatly before stepping out into the hallway, looking right towards the door with Daya soon following behind. 

        At the sight of the two, Sans couldn’t help but blink at their matching clothes, only to chuckle as he looked back at Frisk. “So is Alphys running a cloning project now? Cause if so then she ain’t doing a good job.” 

        “Hello, Sans!” Toriel greeted, the monster entering the hallway from behind the two kids, only to be followed by Austin and Gabriel of course. “These are the kids Frisk and I told you about. Well, most of them. One still seems to be a bit shy,” said the monster with a chuckle. 

        “It’s probably Flare again,” Daya said with an eye-roll. “Hold on I’ll get her.” The child then headed into the dining room, finding the person she was looking for. “There you are. Come on. There’s a new guy here that we have to meet for some reason.” 

        Flare simply looked up at the slightly older child, the girl shaking her head as she rubbed her arm nervously. “I can’t-” 

        “Why not?” Daya questioned, her hands on her hips. “Look. I’m here and so are the others. If that new monster attacks then we’ll be perfectly fine. Now come on-” She then held her hand out to Flare, who nervously looked over at it with a frown. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.” 

        “I don’t know…” Flare mumbled, fiddling with her hands nervously. “I have a bad feeling…” 

        “Oh just come on Flare- We don’t have all day. We aren’t even gonna be around him for that long anyway.” Those last few words eventually got Flare to comply, and with that, the child took Daya’s hand and allowed her to lead her into the hallway. 

        “There she is now!” exclaimed Toriel as she attempted to pat Flare’s head, the child flinching at first yet allowing it in the end. “Sans, I’d like you to meet the new children. We have Vera…” 

        Toriel’s words began fading into the background as for the first time, Flare caught sight of Sans. Instantly, the child tensed as she began taking everything in about the newcomer. The permanent smile, the glowing white pinpricks… But those pinpricks were quickly replaced with one blue and yellow glow, emanating from his left eyesocket, and suddenly, all the child could feel was pain. 

        A terrified shriek suddenly cut through the atmosphere, everyone’s attention fully falling on the shaking girl as she whipped around and scrambled away, stumbling over herself in the process. Almost instantly, Daya and Vera sprang into action as they both ran after Flare, Vera only stopping for a moment to give Sans a warning. 

        “You’re not allowed around anyone until we sort this out!” she ordered before pursuing her friends. 

        Everything was chaotic; it wasn’t as bad as the visit with Child Protective Services, but it was most certainly not calm. The house was filled with the screams and cries, all coming from the same girl as they seemed to almost drown out Vera and Daya’s voices in the living room. 

        “What’s all that screaming for?!” Flowey hollered angrily from the kitchen, the flower unable to see much of anything from where he was positioned. 

        However, Frisk wasn’t focused on Flowey; he was trying to wrap his head around what had just happened. This was supposed to be a happy visit, yet somehow Sans had spooked one of the children. Of course, he wasn’t surprised that it was Flare that had grown scared of him, but the way she reacted was shocking to him. He didn’t know how this could’ve happened. 

        He then looked towards Sans, trying to see if any expression the skeleton was possibly making could’ve set her off. Unfortunately, he didn’t know how to judge his current expression; it was solemn, concerned, but not in a comforting way. The skeleton looked like he was nervous, very nervous in fact, and that wasn’t at all helping Frisk feel better. 

        “Frisk-” 

        “Just- Wait outside with the others-” Before even waiting to see if Sans did as asked, Frisk sprinted down the hallway and into the living room, where everyone else had moved to. 

        The room, as expected, was very chaotic. In one corner was Gabriel, hiding under a table with his hands pressed firmly over his ears. On one side of the couch-bed was Toriel and Austin, Austin standing on the cough-bed as he did his best to convince her not to get near Flare. And finally, on the other side of the couch-bed were Vera and Daya, and thrashing in Daya’s arms was the frightened Flare. 

        “Calm down calm down! No one’s gonna hurt you!” Vera yelled, trying to make her voice heard in all the chaos. 

        Unfortunately, Flare either didn’t hear or didn’t believe her, for the kid continued to panic as she attempted to grab at the couch bed and pull herself away from the two and maybe even head under the thing, though both children quickly pulled her back, as if expecting this move. 

        “He’s going to kill me he’s going to kill me! Don’t let him kill me he’s going to kill me!” Flare sobbed, the girl’s fear as well as her words causing Frisk’s hair to stand on end. It only got worse, however, for when Flare caught sight of Frisk staring, their eyes instantly locked as she yelled, “Please don’t let him hurt me!” 

        Unfortunately for Frisk, Vera instantly took her words the wrong way, the child also noticing the boy’s presence. “Everybody out!” she ordered, looking from him to Toriel. “She won’t calm down until all strangers are out!” 

        While Frisk wasn’t sure if leaving the souls alone was the best idea or not, he was still quite overwhelmed by the situation and decided that checking on Sans and whoever else might be outside was a better option. And that’s exactly what the boy did, sprinting down the hall and out the door, nearly scaring a tall skeleton who’d been a little too close to it. 

        “ _Nyeh!?_ ” exclaimed the startled voice of Papyrus, only for the former Royal Guardsman trainee to quickly recover as he gave the child a grin. “Human Frisk!” Within seconds, the boy was engulfed in a hug, the eccentric monster swinging him from side to side before finally setting him down. “It is good to see you again! How is Flowey?” 

        All Frisk could do was smile; Papyrus always seemed to lift his spirits. “Flowey’s been good. Grumpy as usual, but good. I think he’s in the kitchen at the moment, though no one’s really allowed inside the house right now-” 

        “And why aren’t we allowed?” Undyne’s tone as well as her voice itself took Frisk’s attention almost immediately, the boy remembering why he’d come out here in the first place. “And what’s with all that screaming? Someone dying in there or something?” questioned the fish monster, clearly puzzled and annoyed by the fact that they’d been standing out there for who knows how long. 

        Quickly, Frisk counted everyone that was there, which was, well, everyone he and Toriel had asked to show up and help. There were the Skeleton Brothers, the Blook Cousins, and Undyne and Alphys all standing in the yard, along with a badly parked car which the boy could only recognize to belong to Alphys and Undyne. 

        “Well…” The boy knew he had to answer Undyne’s question, or rather everyone’s question given the puzzled stares he was receiving from the others as well. This would most certainly be difficult. “…Sans somehow scared one of the kids, and now the others won’t even let Toriel near her.” He then looked over at Sans, who was leaning against the house with an uneasy look on his skull. “Hey Sans?” 

        After repeating the name a few times as well as a loud, “Sans!” sounding from Papyrus, the skeleton eventually looked over with what appeared to be sad eyesockets. “Yeah?” 

        Here goes. “…What happened in there? Do you have any idea?” asked the boy; of course he had a few theories but… He wasn’t quite sure. 

        All Sans did was sigh, looking at the twelve year old with a tired look. “Frisk, I’m not sure what exactly happened. Maybe the kiddo was just spooked because she saw a skeleton for the first time. Either way, I think we should talk about this later. Paps and I should probably get going before another kid gets scared.” 

        “Get going? We’re leaving?” questioned Papyrus with a frown etched on his face. “But we just got here!” 

        “Oh Sans darling, stop being a party-crasher. We’re here to help the Queen glam up the place, not scare the little beauties half to death.” Mettaton couldn’t help but add his two cents on the matter, gaining a slightly annoyed look from Sans as the celebrity continued with, “And Papyrus is right. You did just get here. No need to break up the show just yet.” 

        “Besides Sans, we should comfort them and make sure they know that we would never harm a human!” Papyrus cheered, finding his idea to be a rather good one. 

        “Um, let’s just let them calm down on their own for now-” 

        “ _Sans!_ ” 

        The sound of the former Queen’s voice caught the attention of everyone immediately, the monsters quickly growing somewhat uneasy under her angry gaze. The temperature seemed to grow hotter with every passing second, though no one knew if it was because of Toriel’s magic or because of everyone’s nervousness as they waited for what she would do next, or more accurately, what punishment Sans would be in for. 

        Everyone’s attention was on the skeleton once again, though instead of acting as lazy and semi-tense as he had earlier, he tried to put on a more laid back and relaxed attitude, though unfortunately it wasn’t working. 

        “Oh- Uh- Hey there Tori-” 

        “Don’t ‘Tori’ me, Sans!” the monster snapped, causing Frisk to flinch at her harshness; he never saw this side of her often, but he never liked it. The angry side of Toriel was always a side to avoid. “There is a child having a panic attack in the middle of my house, and I am determined to find out why!” 

        “Toriel, I probably just rattled their bones a bit. It’s not that big of a deal-” 

        “It most certainly is ‘that big of a deal,’ Sans,” Toriel shot back, her brown eyes practically burning through his skull. No one else dared make a move with her in this state, though someone who could get away with it did. 

        “Mom…” remembering the presence of her child, the monster then looked down to see a rather uneasy Frisk, the boy rubbing his arm as he looked up at her with pleading brown eyes. 

        This then caused the goat woman to sigh as she tried to calm herself. “I’m sorry Frisk… I’m just a bit… Ruffled by the situation,” she apologized, only to pat the boy’s head before looking back to her target. “But I still must speak with you, Sans. In private. Now.” 

        Worried, Frisk couldn’t help but look over at Sans, who simply gave Frisk but a glance as he looked back towards Toriel and shook his head. 

        “Toriel, I thought we were here to help with supplies-” 

        “Sans.” Once again, the former queen interrupted, but now there was a softness in her voice, trying to hide the layers of sadness that was hidden beneath the surface. “Please…” 

        The skeleton knew he couldn’t cheat his way out of this; Toriel would eventually get an answer from him, or Frisk would figure it out and tell Toriel his suspicions; despite being friends with the boy, he hardly knew what he’d do next. Even then, one thing was obvious: He couldn’t hide from this problem. 

        With a defeated huff, Sans’ left eyesocket began to glow, the skeleton and goat monster both beginning to do the same. “Alright…” And within a flash, they vanished before anyone else could say a word.


	9. What Happened

It was a beautiful day outside. Birds were singing; flowers were blooming. But to Sans, it all felt like hell under Toriel’s piercing gaze. They were in a field, the same stretch of land the monsters all had to cross through in order to get to Ebott City from Mount Ebott. Trees dotted the landscape, though for the most part it was nothing but a field of grass. Now, Sans and Toriel stood a few feet across from each other, Sans struggling to meet her eyes while she did her best to keep a straight face.

        “Sans.” Her voice made him wince a bit; he knew she was trying to stay calm, but her voice was clearly filled with fear, as were her eyes. “What happened.” 

        The skeleton was silent for a moment as he shuffled his feet, once again being unable to meet her gaze. 

        “Sans.” She might not admit it, but she was growing impatient. The longer this went on, the more distressed she became, and Sans staying silent was only keeping her from not only the truth, but her children as well. “Why was Flare so frightened? What do you know?” 

        Once again, nothing. Her patience was gone. “ _Sans!_ ” Finally, he met her gaze; her angry and upset gaze. “What happened to my child? What do you know? I wouldn’t be asking you if you didn’t have anything to do with this. But I have to know. Tell me. Please. Tell me.” 

        He could see the pain in her eyes, pain that fueled her anger. However, even though she had every right to know what had happened between him and the child, he knew very well that she would hate him. She hated Asgore for ordering the deaths of seven human children, and the same would probably be said for those who carried out his orders. 

        Finally, the skeleton let out a defeated sigh. “Alright, I’ll tell you what happened. Just… Keep an open mind…”  
  
  
  
Frisk had been waiting outside when it had happened, when his friend ended up teleporting right across the yard. He didn’t look up to see what they’d do next; in all honestly, the boy expected one of two reactions: Either Sans would teleport away soon after teleporting Toriel home and Toriel would run into the house; Toriel would ask him about the others and Sans would ask about Papyrus; or a mixture of the two. It all depended on what exactly had gone down between the two while they were alone; even after practically memorizing their actions, he couldn’t predict _everything_. 

        “Frisk?” Toriel: Option Two. “Do you know where the others have gone? If so, are they coming back?” Well, not quite option two, but he was certainly close. 

        Looking up, Frisk quickly studied Toriel’s expression; it was tense, yet firm, as if she were at school having a bad day with her students yet still trying to be kind. He knew what that meant. “Oh. We weren’t sure when you’d be back, so I asked them to go get the clothes and stuff, like we talked about,” replied the boy with a more or less neutral expression. 

        Toriel, of course, seemed to then remember what she’d been planning on having them buy, and within moments, she’d brought out her phone and began to text. “You told them everything, correct? What sizes they need? What clothes they’ll want to wear? How big all the rooms are-” 

        “Don’t worry Mom- I told them everything. Undyne even said she might get some toys for them-” 

        “Undyne?” Toriel seemed to almost pale at the thought of the ex-head of the Royal Guard grabbing toys for her children, especially since the last ‘toy’ she’d given Frisk was an actual sword of all things. “I will just text everyone everything they need to know, just in case.” 

        As Toriel began typing her long, long text message, Frisk took notice of Sans, who spoke up and asked, “Hey kid, when Papyrus gets back, make sure to tell him I’ll be home, okay kiddo?” Within seconds, Toriel’s eyebrows furrowed in annoyance at his presence, though before she could open her mouth, Sans had teleported away. 

        “…The nerve of some monsters…” the boss monster huffed, only to shove her phone back into her pocket and carefully open the door to the house. 

        “Mom- Wait-!” Toriel had almost forgotten how the children might react to her thanks to Flare’s outburst, but luckily, things were calm, at least for the moment. 

        Once the door had been opened, there wasn’t a panicking child, thankfully. Instead, there was Austin, who was quickly startled by the two, so startled that he almost dropped a certain flower pot he was holding. 

        Letting out a startled and very much high-pitched squeal of his own, Flowey shrunk down in his flower pot as if to try and disappear, only notice that the ones who had scared him were Toriel and Frisk, even if Frisk hung back a bit. “Toriel! Don’t scare us like that!” the flower snapped, Austin nodding in response as he held the flower pot out to the monster. 

        “I’ll take him-” Frisk quickly moved in front of Toriel and quickly took hold of the flower pot, Flowey simply rolling his eyes and muttering something under his breath. 

        “He doesn’t make a good flower crown,” Austin said with a frown, only to shrink down into his borrowed sweater when Toriel gently patted his head. 

        “Oh my child… Thank you for looking after Flowey… Where are the others?” 

        While the house had still been pretty quiet, it hadn’t at all meant the children had left, thankfully. Gabriel ended up slowly peeking out from behind the wall once Toriel had finished speaking, all while Daya descended from the top of the stairs as she grumbled a quick, “There you are,” before heading towards the living room where everyone else had apparently gathered. 

        Toriel was about to ask where Vera and Flare were when Daya suddenly came back into her line of sight while pulling another girl along with her, that girl being Vera. Grumbling at Daya for a few seconds, she then stood up and jerking her arm away while rubbing the appendage in the process. 

        “Vera?” The goat-woman didn’t have to ask her question, for once she said her name, the dirty-blonde knew what she was going to ask and in turn provided an answer. 

        “Flare’s okay, but we’re leaving her alone for a while. No one’s allowed to talk to or so much as look at Flare unless it’s Daya,” said the girl, only for whatever respect that had been there to decrease. “Now your turn. What was _that?!_ ” 

        “That was Sans- He’s a friend of ours-!” Frisk quickly replied before being interrupted by the goat-woman. 

        “He’s a friend of Frisk’s, but you won’t have to worry about him. He won’t be coming around here anymore.” 

        “What?!” 

        “Haha! Finally the Smiley Trashbag’s been banned from the house!” 

        “Flowey!” Frisk was clearly distressed by the situation, and Flowey’s comment didn’t exactly help. After shooting the flower a brief look, he then stared up at Toriel in shock, though she was currently more focused on Vera’s reaction as well as the other children’s. “Mom, please! They just got off on the wrong foot- Maybe Flare will get used to him over time-!” 

        “This isn’t up for discussion,” Toriel said in a swift yet firm manner, causing the young boy to back down. Toriel was upset. He could tell. Arguing with her on this subject would get them nowhere. 

        Vera, for once, seemed actually satisfied with something Toriel had said. “Finally, we agree on something.” 

        “U-um… Will anyone else come here…?” questioned Gabriel quietly, his voice almost barely audible to Frisk, though luckily Toriel picked it up quickly and too answered this question. 

        “There may be other monsters, but I will make sure they don’t hurt or scare anyone like Sans did. I want you all to feel safe here, and what he did was inexcusable.” 

        “He didn’t do anything,” Frisk muttered under his breath, Flowey rolling his eyes while crossing his leaves. 

        “By the way. Children, where is Flare? I don’t want to accidentally scare her when walking around the house.” 

        At first, the children seemed reluctant to answer, though Daya ended up deciding to take up responsibility on her friend’s whereabouts. “She’s in that weird room with all the tiny people. Just don’t go in there until she comes out.” 

        While none of the other kids seemed phased by her wording, Toriel was most definitely confused. “…Tiny people…?” 

        “My action figures!” Frisk’s sudden yelling caught everyone off guard to the point where almost no one reacted when the boy sprinted down the hallway and quickly opened a door, Flowey yelling, “Frisk!” as he did so. This was followed by some of the other children yelling while Toriel once again tried calming them. But, he didn’t get to listen to them for long, for the second he was inside, Frisk shut the door to his room and dashed towards a small table in the corner, where a bunch of small figures stood, all of which seemed to be thankfully untouched. “Oh thank goodness- They’re all safe-” said the boy with a relieved sigh. 

        “You have serious issues,” grumbled the flower, only to peak around Frisk when he heard a small whimper from in the room. “Oh great. Little Miss Panic’s in here.” 

        “Huh?” Turning around, Frisk then knew what Flowey was talking about when he noticed Flare, the child huddled at the far edge of his bed while for the most part hidden under the once-neatly-made covers. “Oh. Hi there Flare-” 

        Without warning, the door suddenly swung open, an angry Daya in the doorway as she sprinted over to the frightened child. “Get out!” the boy heard Vera yell, Daya then giving Frisk a glare as if daring him to disobey the younger girl’s orders. 

        “I’m coming!” And with that, the boy quickly trotted out, Flowey in hand, though he was of course met by the angry girl who’d yelled at him earlier, her arms crossed as she demanded, “Why’d you go in there when we told you not to?” 

        “My action figures are in there! And I sleep in that room!” the boy protested, still clutching to the flower pot he had with him. Luckily, before another argument could ensue, Toriel had decided to quickly butt in. 

        “I’m not tolerating any fighting in this house. Frisk, I think you can kindly lend Flare your room for the time being. It won’t hurt you and it won’t hurt your action figures. Vera, while Flare can stay there for a little while, it’d be good for everyone to know how long she plans on staying in there, especially since that is indeed Frisk’s room.” It was clear to both children that Toriel wasn’t planning on dealing with anymore mishaps today, and because of this, it seems Vera had decided not to argue. 

        “None of us know how long it’ll really take, but she’ll come out when she’s ready. Besides, she’ll have to come out eventually if she wants to eat. You have more non-poisonous food in here, right?” Vera and Toriel locked eyes for a moment before the goat-woman sighed and nodded. “That sounds like the best thing that can be done for Flare. Also yes, I do happen to have more _non-poisonous food_.” Clearly, the monster was growing fed up with Vera’s remarks. 

        “Toriel?” Looking down, the monster took notice of Austin, who had once again been tugging at her robes. “What do we do now?” 

        This didn’t quite catch the boss monster off guard, but at the same time, she didn’t answer the child right away. She’d had things planned for the day, things that needed to be done, but after her conversation with Sans, she honestly just wanted to stay in her room for the rest of the day and grieve. But, after what had happened, she couldn’t do that in front of the children, so the monster put a smile on her face and answered. “Frisk and I were going to ask if you could help prepare the house for you to stay in.” 

        “Stay in?” echoed Vera and Gabriel, Vera then adding, “What do you mean by ‘stay in?’ As in staying here?” 

        “Well, yes-” 

        “What?!” 

        “ _And because of that,_ ” Toriel interrupted Vera, “We’re buying you many things for you to use, including your very own beds.” 

        Any fear and remote hostility any of the children had soon nearly vanished at the thought of their own beds. 

        “Is this w-what you were talking about at b-breakfast?” questioned Gabriel, remembering the bunk beds talk. 

        Toriel, glad she had made the souls at least somewhat happy, nodded with a smile. “Exactly. And we’re buying you your own clothes and toys. I hope you all like them.” She then waited and watched the children’s questioning yet somewhat happy expressions, only to continue. “But, we won’t be able to move everything into the house unless some things are moved out of the way. So, I’m going to need your help.” 

        “I wanna help-!” Austin exclaimed, happy to do something other than just sit around. Soon, all the other children in the room chimed in, including Vera, who simply stated that she was only helping because she needed something to do. 

        Thankful that the offers had seemed to distract them and maybe even herself a bit, the monster then turned to Frisk, asking if he too would like to participate. 

        “…I’m gonna go outside…” Frisk didn’t even bother looking up at Toriel when he answered and instead turned towards the door, much to Toriel’s dismay. Was he really that upset? 

        “Frisk,” the monster started out softly, placing a hand on his shoulder while ignoring one of Flowey’s, “Oh you’ve done it now,” remarks. “I’m going to need your help moving at least some things around the house. You know we must be ready for when everyone returns, and I can’t let the other children move things without my or your supervision.” 

        Unfortunately, Frisk didn’t budge; he simply stared blankly at the floor. And so, Toriel had decided on a compromise. “You can go outside once we finish moving things down here.” 

        “…By myself, right?” 

        “All by yourself.” 

        “With Flowey?” 

        While she didn’t particularly like the weed, Toriel knew how much Flowey meant to Frisk, even if she didn’t understand why exactly he was so attached to it, or why banning it from the house seemed like such a bad thing to her. “…If you wish, but you must do your part.” 

        “Okay.” 

        “Alright. Now that everything’s settled, I want everyone to divide up into teams…”  
  
  
  
Despite Frisk’s rather depressing attitude from before as well as the souls’ lack of understanding of most basic household items, it was surprising how well everyone worked together, especially with a bit of music. Vera and Gabriel had been stuck with Frisk while Austin was upstairs with Toriel to help her sort out and clean anything that she needed done up there. 

        Downstairs, the tasks were relatively simple. Fold up and move the couch-bed, toss sheets in the corner for washing, and vacuum the floors, though that scared practically every soul child in the room and probably even beyond. And while Flowey’s lovely, “You missed a spot,” comments were annoying, they certainly were helpful, so long as they were real comments of course. But, since Frisk was unable to clean his room due to Flare and Dayas’ occupation of it, the boy had been quickly cleared for outdoor duty, which he quickly took advantage of. 

        “Finally. Some fresh air,” Flowey said flatly as he was placed on the concrete step outside the front door next to Frisk, the boy eventually taking his seat next to the flower before pulling out his phone. “Oh don’t tell me you’re texting the Smiley Trashbag-” 

        “Shut up, Flowey.” He didn’t even look away from his phone as he sent one simple text message warning to his currently-shopping friend group, only to then pull up a second contact and send a second message. 

        ‘ _We need to talk._ ’


	10. Deaths and Fashion Don'ts

Frisk was lucky that the park wasn’t too far away from his house. It was a few blocks away, but it wasn’t a major walk, and he figured it was the perfect place to meet and discuss these important developments. After all, if the souls were reacting badly to monsters that murdered them in the past, then he’d need to know in order to prevent anymore freak-outs.

        Two by two, the shopping monsters eventually showed up, Alphys and Undyne arriving first while the Blook Cousins eventually followed behind them. 

        “I couldn’t help but notice that a certain skeleton isn’t with us,” noted Mettaton, the robot turning to Alphys with a raised eyebrow. 

        “O-oh- Papyrus? W-We dropped him off at home- He- He said he got a text from Frisk about it-” said the nervous monster, Undyne’s eyes instantly falling on the human boy in front of her. 

        “What’s going on, punk? First Sans bails and now Papyrus?! Come on!” The fish monster looked less than pleased with this whole thing; she already disliked shopping as it was, but now Frisk was acting weird and the Skeleton Brothers were involved, apparently. 

        “Hold on. I brought you all here because, well, it’s really important.” With a deep breath, Frisk began to explain. He told the monsters about the children, about how they were found on Mount Ebott, and how Toriel had identified them as the six fallen souls from before. He noted their amnesia, their strange behaviors, and most importantly, Flare’s reaction to Sans. He talked, they listened, and already, Undyne had seemed to grow angrier and angrier with his explanation until finally, she erupted. 

        “You’re telling me those little punks are back?!” the fish-woman shouted, temporarily attracting the attention of a few other people in the park. “We’ve been shopping for those kids?! I can’t believe this!” 

        “U-Undyne! Calm down-!” pleaded Alphys, the lizard monster quickly hugging her fiancé in a frightened manner. 

        While it didn’t get Undyne to completely calm herself, she did take a few seconds to force herself to lower her voice, and then a few more to keep from blowing up again, or at least blowing up too much. “Okay. The first kid I actually feel kind of bad about, but the second brat shot out my eye! And you sent me out shopping for them?! You know how much I hate shopping!” she hissed, only for Frisk to blink at her in surprise. 

        “Wait- The first one? H-How many did you kill?” questioned the kid nervously, only for Undyne to reply with a harsh, “Only two- Can we move on yet?!” 

        “Not yet! Otherwise, Mom’s gonna ban you from the house like she banned Sans!” Frisk protested, clearly upset over this. 

        “Well maybe the flower punk knows something! Why don’t you ask him?!” Undyne harshly inquired, Flowey letting out a snarl of, “I wasn’t alive then, dummy!” in response to the fish. 

        “I don’t want anyone yelling at each other!” Frisk shouted, trying to get everyone back on track. “I just want to figure out what happened, so that maybe more monsters don’t get banned from the house… If Undyne killed two and Sans probably killed one, then that leaves three others… Did any of you kill any of them…?” 

        For a moment, everyone was silent, but Alphys did eventually stutter out an answer. “I-I couldn’t kill a-any humans- Y-You were the first one I e-ever saw-!” 

        “Okay. I think you’ll be fine then. Mettaton? Napstablook? What about you guys?” 

        At Frisk’s question, Mettaton couldn’t help but scoff, the robot flicking some of his synthetic hair out of his face. “Me? Kill a human? Darling, I might’ve been originally built to exterminate humans, but I’d never seen one until you came along.” 

        To Frisk, this was at least a little reassuring; some monsters hadn’t been alive long enough to have seen other humans, and it was nice to know that he could at least still hopefully be around Alphys and Mettaton while at his house. 

        “And Blooky here has also never seen another human, well, not until you, that is,” Mettaton continued, the barely visible ghost giving Frisk a small nod as well as an, “I guess…” 

        Frisk, thinking all of this over, soon gave the group a nod. “Okay… I think I have everything… Sorry Undyne, but I think it’d be safe if you didn’t come over… I don’t want them to be scared or for you to be banned-” 

        “Yeah yeah fine whatever. Alphys can drive the rest of the way. I’ll just chill at home in the meantime,” grumbled Undyne, the monster still seeming very annoyed with this turn of events. 

        “B-But Undyne-! At least l-let me drive you home-!” 

        “No worries, Alphy. I’ll just run home. It’ll let me let out some pent up anger anyway.” Before anyone could object, Undyne had sprinted off, the monster no longer in sight of the group, though the honks of various horns as well as a loud, “Hey! I’m running here!” revealed her location. 

        Alphys, who didn’t seem all that happy with how Undyne had reacted, fiddled with her hands and looked down at the ground, though Mettaton was there to lift her spirits. “Don’t worry darling. I’m sure she’ll be fine! Now, let’s show those children the truly beautiful nature of monsters, by giving them an amazing performance that they will never forget!”   
  
  
  
Vera had no idea what to think of the sparkly purple robot that had decided to make its way into their house, and seeing as she didn’t know exactly what it was, she already distrusted it. 

        “Careful- It’s sparkly- I mean- It could do something-” Vera told Gabriel, who was staring at this fabulous robot with shining blue eyes. 

        “Beauties and gentlebeauties, I, Mettaton, and here to bring you the greatest performance yet!” declared the popstar, only for Daya to suddenly realize, “Hey! You’re that guy from the radio-thing!” 

        Within an instant, Mettaton seemed to somehow find a way to light up even more at this news. “Oh really?! Well, I am quite famous, so it’s no wonder that you heard me on the radio-” 

        “You suck at singing.” 

        It was silent in the house for a moment, though Toriel broke said silence by scolding the child. “Daya! That was uncalled for!” 

        “Oh it’s alright darling- It’s alright. I’m sure she’s just playing hard to get,” said the robot with a wink, causing Daya to give him a confused look whilst Toriel practically death-glared him. 

        Luckily, Frisk was there to intervene, and intervene he did. “A-Anyway! Let’s get this stuff into the house! I bet we’ll be done by the end of the day if we hurry!” 

        “What stuff, exactly? Do you mean those bed-things?” questioned Vera with an eyebrow raised. Even if she didn’t fully trust anyone here yet, the girl was slowly growing to… Slowly. For now, it was more of a tolerance than anything, but she had to remain vigilant; she was the acting leader while Via was gone, after all. 

        “That, and so much more!” proclaimed the pink robot, mic in hand as he then stepped aside to reveal an entire rack of clothes, all clothes that had just been purchased from the store. Surprisingly, they weren’t as glittery as Mettaton, but that was only because Napstablook had reached a compromise with his cousin. Otherwise, at least half of those clothes would have been sparkly, even though Toriel had requested otherwise. 

        “These racks are filled to the brim with outfits our Queen Toriel had ordered, handpicked by the finest actor and finest DJ on the planet!” Within moments, Austin had quickly approached the racks, only to begin trying to look through the clothes one by one. Of course, one of Mettaton’s hands snaked around and lightly grabbed his own before they could do anything. “Nah ah ah. Touch later. For now, we observe! Behold, the designer line, with its glorious shine and sleek design, all ordered by yours truly! You’re welcome~” 

        Within moments, Frisk and Napstablook had moved the first rack while another came in, this rack holding six – no, seven outfits, all of which seemed to resemble couture outfits from fashion shows. They weren’t as outlandish as couture outfits exactly, but the immense amounts of glitter and color and wacky style made it clear that these weren’t very normal. 

        “…Those are clothes?” questioned Vera with a raised eyebrow, only for Gabriel to walk towards the outfits and stand beside an already close Austin, the boy staring at the shining clothes from underneath their clear yet protective plastic bags. “So pretty…” 

        “They’re not that pretty. I like the first rack the best,” remarked Daya, Austin quickly asking, “Can I put them on now?” with a quiet yet somewhat excited voice.         While the children were now beginning to berate Toriel and Mettaton with clothing questions, Flare had sneaked out of her room to see what the fuss was all about, only to catch sight of the clothes as well as the new humanoid monster and ghostly one that had entered the house. She’d been about ready to slip back into Frisk’s room after a quick look when, unfortunately for her, Mettaton caught sight of the child. 

        “Oh! It seems we have one other little beauty that needs to join the party!” said the extravagant robot as he watched the child freeze in place. “Come out darling! Don’t be shy! We’re having quite the party over here!” 

        A moment passed, and it became clear that Flare wouldn’t budge without some help. Therefore, with a huff, Daya then made her way over to the slightly younger girl before taking her hand and looking towards the group, and within a few moments, she’d somehow managed to bring the frightened child over. Of course, Flare was still cowering a bit behind Daya, but at least she’d gathered enough courage to exit Frisk’s room, which Frisk looked pretty relieved with. 

        “H-Hey- Um- Q-Queen Toriel- Ah, is it okay if we start m-moving things in now-?” piped up Alphys as she did her best to make herself visible to the large goat monster. 

        “Oh Alphys, it’s just Toriel now, and of course. Children, please step back. We have lots of work to do and limited time to get it all done. For now, let us move the clothes into the living room and sort them later. We should get the heavier furniture up first… You did buy the furniture I requested, yes?” 

        “Oh- Of course! I-It’s still in Mettaton’s trailer, actually-” 

        “Oh! Looking for the furniture I see! I’ll show you the dressers!” With that, Mettaton lead Toriel outside, the goat woman quickly giving Frisk the quick order of, “Please move the racks and open the doors while we move everything, okay? Also Frisk, you’ll need to move a few things in your room, just like we talked about.” 

        “Alright. Got it, Mom!” said Frisk cheerily, only to watch the two leave. Quickly, he and the others got to work, moving the racks to the living room with Napstablook, Alphys, and even the other souls before looking towards his room. “Hey Alphys! Can you help me move my stuff? You’re the only one I know who understands the importance of my action figures.” 

        Alphys, letting out a quick hum, looked up and quickly nodded. “Oh sure, Frisk! Y-You don’t mind waiting out here w-with the souls, r-right Napstablook?” 

        “…Sure, I guess…” murmured the ghost, only for Frisk to exclaim, “Great!” before heading to his room, Alphys quickly following behind him. 

        Once they’d entered the room, Frisk laid out his new ground plan and soon, they’d gotten to work. Of course, the work wasn’t that major seeing as all they had to do was move his bed back into a corner as well as adjust his dresser, but it allowed Alphys the time to ask him a few questions. 

        “S-So! Which ones are which?” questioned the monster, causing Frisk to look up from the floor plan he’d had quickly sketched out. 

        “Huh?” 

        “The souls- W-which souls are which-?” repeated Alphys, the lizard-like monster fiddling with her clawed hands. 

        “Oh-” Frisk then took a moment to think, only to look towards the door when he heard one kid ask something about what he assumed was Napstablook’s Dapperblook trick. “Well… To be honest, I… Don’t know. The only one I’m sure of is Via, but that’s just because she needs glasses.” He’d also sworn he’d seen them in his fight with Flowey, but they didn’t act like those kids… Not really… 

        “Via?” 

        “Perseverance, I think. She’s not here right now- She’s- She’s the one in the hospital…” said Frisk with a worried frown, only to rub his eyes a bit as he watched Alphys think. 

        “…Frisk?” 

        “Yes?” 

        “C-Could you possibly get Toriel to bring the kids by my house sometime-? W-When Undyne isn’t there of course but I-I just want to check something-” Alphys then ended up looking down to the ground, her tail wrapping around herself a bit in a bout of shame and nervousness. 

        Frisk, after taking a moment to guess what she wanted to do, eventually nodded and gave his friend an encouraging smile. “I’ll do my best, Alphys!” 

        “R-Really?” 

        “Mhm!” 

        “O-Oh! Okay then! W-Well we should probably head back out to the others- N-Napstablook can’t occupy them forever, I mean-” 

        “Yeah, I see what you mean,” said the boy before reaching the door and twisting the knob. “Let’s go see how things are going.” And with that, he opened the door.


	11. Action Figures

Moving everything into the bedrooms was a piece of work, especially when it came to getting things up to girls’ new bedroom. The plan had been to have Sans teleport everything to where it needed to go, but with his absence as well as Undyne no longer being around to lift the really heavy objects, things were much harder on the monsters, who were doing their best with what they had.

        “You can do it Mettaton!” Frisk cheered from the bottom of the stairs, the boy watching him and Toriel carry a rather heavy dresser up the steps. 

        “Come on Toriel!” 

        “You’re on the last few steps!” 

        “Lift like your lives depend on it- _ahh!_ ” 

        The second Toriel stumbled and showed signs of falling, the five souls had quickly scattered to avoid getting crushed. In Frisk’s opinion, it was amusing, and while Alphys also found it to be somewhat humorous, it was also making her a little bit anxious. After all, what if it did fall? Sure Mettaton was strong, but he was the one leading the way while Toriel was following behind him while helping to carry the thing; if Toriel slipped, then the dresser would surely fall on top of them, and they most certainly didn’t want that. 

        “I-It’s okay, children! We have it under control!” Toriel called out, Austin peaking back into the stairway with Gabriel close behind him. One by one, the souls began to return, calling back out to Toriel once again as they tried to give her and Mettaton words of encouragement. 

        And then she nearly tripped over her robe. Again. 

        With another series of yelps, the children once again raced to safety as the former queen tried to catch her balance. Even Alphys had backed away from the staircase, while Napstablook simple turned around and murmured, “I can’t watch…” 

        Frisk was the only one who didn’t move, and thankfully, Toriel did manage to steady herself, only to help Mettaton finish lifting the dresser and safely setting it down at the top. With a happy cheer, the boy then began clapping at their victory, Alphys quickly joining in while the children all returned and peaked back up the stairs once again. 

        “Thank you, thank you. You’re too kind!” said Mettaton with a gracious bow, the robot then turning his head slightly while raising a sassy eyebrow at Toriel. The goat monster, however, didn’t budge at first, but then she let out a small chuckle and out of embarrassment said, “If you insist,” only to do a quick bow herself. Unfortunately, their happiness was short-lived. 

        “N-Now we only n-need to put up t-two more dressers-!” Alphys exclaimed, only to flinch as she heard a bunch of annoyed sighs sound from the other children. Even Napstablook’s ghostly form sagged a bit until only his drooping eyes were peeking out above the floor, thus causing Mettaton to click his tongue and shake his head. 

        “Well little beauties, we shouldn’t let that stop the show, now should we? _But,_ it is never good to continue a show without an intermission! Break time~” With two quick claps, Mettaton then began his descent, Toriel letting out a sigh of relief as she followed behind him. 

        “So how long is this going to take? You said we still have two more of those to get up the stairs,” noted Vera with a slight frown, the girl then running up the stairs once Toriel and Mettaton had reached the bottom. Followed by the other two girls, Vera then began inspecting the dresser, circling it as best she could before trying to push the heavy object. 

        “Vera, my child, please don’t mess with that. Mettaton and I will move it once we catch our breath,” Toriel called with worry in her voice. 

        “And I thought some of those branches were heavy-” Daya grunted as she and Flare both tried to push the dresser forward, succeeding in moving it one or two feet before stopping at Vera’s orders. 

        “Stop stop stop- You’ll hit the wall!” It was clear to the other souls that Vera was in work mode, which was why Gabriel and Austin had exchanged glances at the bottom of the stairs. 

        “Is there any way to um, stop her?” said Frisk quietly as he turned to the other two boys at the bottom of the stairs. 

        “N-Not really… She gets really into w-working…” Gabriel murmured, the boy nervously twisting a bit as he stood in place. 

        “You can try to distract her, I guess, but she’ll only do it if it’s work-related right now,” said Austin before crossing his arms. “Even though she doesn’t always do her own work…” 

        Humming a bit in thought, Frisk then attempted to come up with an idea, only to eventually snap his fingers once one came to him. “Hey Vera! You know, it’ll be very hard to fit the dresser in unless you know the proper format." All he could do was smirk when Vera began peaking over the railing. 

        "What do you mean by 'proper format?'" she questioned, only to blow some dirty blonde hair out of her face. 

        "I mean, this is all about making nice bedrooms and stuff, _and_ without my mom's help and without knowing where things should go, you'll just be wasting your time and energy moving something around, only to get it moved elsewhere," the boy reasoned, watching as Vera furrowed her eyebrows in thought. 

        "...What're you trying to say." Vera seemed intrigued, yet at the same time annoyed by the boy. Not only was he interrupting her, but she was also getting outsmarted by him, which wasn't very surprising given his knowledge of the place, but still. 

        "I'm saying you should check out my room! Or, well, me, Gabriel, and Austins' room. We moved all the furniture into it and around before getting everything up there since, well, moving things up to your room is really hard." Frisk was hoping this would work, though given how Vera seemed to actually be thinking about taking him up on his offer, he figured that he actually had this in the bag. Even without his resets, he could still predict people, and that made the boy happy. "So. Whadaya say?" 

        Vera, still seeming like she was in thought, eventually huffed before making her way back to the stairs. "Fine. Let's go see your room." 

        Happy with Vera finally caving in, Frisk then clasped his hands together as if to seal the deal before trotting off to go head to to his room, or rather the newly named boys' room. Of course, Austin and Gabriel quickly followed him along with Vera and the other two girls. Seeing as Frisk had gotten a head start, he reached the door first and whisked open the door to reveal what his little bedroom had transformed into. 

        In the farthest corner from the door was a bunk bed, space-patterned sheets on the top mattress while simple cloudy sky ones were on the bottom one. In front of the bunk bed was Frisk's bed in all its Harry Potter glory, and right beside that same bunk was also Frisk's dresser, which of course was covered in Harry Potter figurines. There were two other identical dressers of course, neither of which were decorated with anything, but two racks of clothes indicated which dresser belonged to who. 

        "Hey. Hey Frisk." Flowey's quick little comment quickly caught the others' attention, though that annoyed look on his face quickly changed to an angry one as he yelled, "Would you stop _leaving me in here?! It's so boring!_ " 

        "...The flower's staying down here right." 

        " _It's Flowey!_ " 

        "Yeah, he's staying in my room," Frisk said to Vera, the boy then trotting off to the side right next to Flowey's little pot. 

        Standing back, Frisk then allowed the souls to examine the room, Vera and Daya taking an interest in the position of objects while the two boys in their group quickly drifted towards the clothes. Flare, unsurprisingly, stuck close to Daya, who had picked a large stuffed rabbit up from the lower bunk bed and was currently examining it. 

        "What's with all of these stupid dolls?" Vera's question suddenly caught Frisk's attention, especially when the girl carelessly picked one of those objects as it rested neatly on his dresser. "They looked weird already, but they look even dumber now-" 

        "Don't touch that!" Frisk suddenly yelled as he raced over and snatched the figure out of the girl's hand, the boy holding it protectively as he quickly examined and dusted it. "You could've gotten scratches on my Draco!" 

        All the other children could really do was stare in confusion, not at all understanding Frisk's distress. The only one who didn't seem surprised was Flowey, who remarked in a sour tone, "He's really picky over who touches his dolls." 

        "They're not dolls!" Frisk protested as he hugged the little Draco figuring. "They're action figures! Come on Flowey- You know this!" 

        "See?" huffed the flower as he watched the boy gently put the Draco figure back in its rightful place. 

        "...Why do you even have those _action figures?_ " inquired Daya with a tasteless tone of voice, the older girl giving him the strangest look. 

        "Well I'm glad you asked! They're from my favorite book and movie series, Harry Potter!" Already, the children weren't quite following, but that didn't stop Frisk from explaining things. "It's a series about this guy who goes to this school for wizards to learn magic, but while he's over there, he ends up learning that he has to defeat Voldemort!" 

        Everyone was confused. Everyone. Except for Flowey, because Flowey was very unfortunate to have to live with this child for six months. 

        "...What?" Vera was the first to speak, though Daya and Flares' expressions also revealed that they too were confused. 

        "...Oh yeah- Voldemort's the bad guy. He's this evil wizard that tried to kill Harry Potter when he was a kid, but he failed and a bunch of other stuff happened, so now Voldemort's back from the dead and he's all like-" 

        "Hey! Spoilers!" Flowey suddenly yelled. In all honesty, he didn't care about spoiling the show for the kids. He just didn't want to hear Frisk go on another rant about how cool Harry Potter was. 

        "Oh! Yeah- Sorry- Completely spoiled that for you- Um-" Chuckling nervously, Frisk then awkwardly grinned while he scratched the back of his neck. 

        All the three girls could really do was stare at him with puzzled and overall dumbfounded expressions, though their attention ended up shifting to the boys, who were happily going through their new clothes. 

        Gabriel and Austin, without even needed to be told, had quickly figured out which wardrobe belonged to who, and already, they were trying to figure out what clothes they wished to wear tomorrow. 

        "I-I like this one!" Gabriel exclaimed as he held up a cute little lilac dress. That's one thing Frisk had noticed about that particular boy's entire wardrobe; it was all dresses and skirts, which he didn't mind. This would just mean that when it came down to organizing clothes, it'd be much easier to distinguish his own outfits from the other two boys', especially since Austin, while he had more pants and shorts, still had a fair amount of feminine clothing mixed in with the bunch. 

        "It's cute! This is my favorite!" Austin said happily as he held up a sweater with a childish yet somehow stylish flower design on it. And then he began wiggling out of his borrowed sweater. "Let's try it on-!" 

        "Austin no!" Quickly, Frisk snatched the sweater out of the unsuspecting boy's hands. "There are girls in the room! You can't just change out in the open-!" 

        "Why not? You put on a skirt in the middle of the Underground," said Flowey flatly, Latino child blushing a bit out of embarrassment. 

        "Well yeah, but it was armor! And surprisingly good armor too-" the boy pouted, only to cross his arms and turn his attention back to a very annoyed Austin. "Besides, we still have to put all the clothes away in the drawers before tomorrow. Plus it'd be a waste of clothes to wear the sweater today. Wait till tomorrow." 

        "But I don't wanna wait!" Austin whined as he snatched the sweater back, only to hug it protectively as he backed away from the older boy. "Why can't I wear it now?!" 

        "Because it'll get them dirty-!" 

        "What's that?!" Quickly, Vera and the others had latched onto a sudden noise above her head, or more accurately, the sound of a large object being set down on the second floor. 

        "They must be moving the dresser," Frisk figured, only for Vera to suddenly rush out the door while yelling, "Get the format right- The format must be perfect!" 

        "...Is she always like that?" 

        All Daya did was raise an eyebrow pointedly at Frisk as she mockingly asked, "Are you obsessed with dolls?" 

        " _Action figures,_ " Frisk corrected, gaining a snicker from the slightly younger girl. 

        "Same thing. Hey Vera! Wait for us!" And with that, Daya and Flare had retreated from the room, only for Frisk to look over at the other two boys. Seeing as both were still very fixed on the clothes, Frisk figured that following the girls would be a dumb move to an extent. So, he made a different decision and stayed behind. 

        "Guess I'll teach you guys how to fold some clothes."


	12. Inspection Day

The past two days had been about as busy as expected considering the stakes at hand as well as everything else. After having finally moved all of the furniture upstairs and in its proper places, the day after that had been spent completely tidying up the house as well as the children themselves. That meant haircuts, making sure all of the clothes fit, etcetera. And now came the big day: Inspection Day.

        "...Why is this basket of dirty clothes just sitting here?" Mrs. Ryan had returned with her crew as well as even a policeman, and already, they had found something to complain about, or rather one worker had. 

        "Oh! These are supposed to get washed today," Toriel clarified as she clasped her hands together politely. "But, there was something else in the washer earlier, so I had set them here in case any other clothing needed washing." 

        "...I see..." said one of the workers, only to jot something down on her clipboard before heading to another section of the house, all while getting watched by Toriel as they went along. 

        Frisk, of course, was doing the same thing, though he refused to hide his disdain for the workers. Every time one got near him, he'd automatically shoot them an apprehensive look and would even move away if he felt they were too close. Whenever one tried to judge something as trivial as a dirty dish or anything else, he would quickly provide an explanation before taking care of it to avoid getting scrutinized by any other social workers. It also didn't help that pictures and even brief hair samples were taken of the children, or more accurately mugshots were, especially considering the fact that neither of the children were quite happy about them. However, the most stressful part about all of this had to be the interviews, which, to his and just about everyone's sheer annoyance, were conducted privately between Mrs. Ryan, the souls, and a few other social workers. 

        "Can you tell me all your names, please?" questioned the woman, being surprisingly sweet to the children despite their last encounter. 

        "Daya." 

        "Austin." 

        "G-Gabriel..." 

        "Flare..." 

        "...Vera." 

        Neither of them seemed happy about answering the questions either, but Frisk had told them what would happen if they acted too out of line; they would never see each other again. 

        Writing down their names, Mrs. Ryan then began asking more questions, such as where they came from, how Toriel found them, how they were being treated, and what they remembered about their parents. 

        "Parents?" Daya, confused, had decided to speak up first when the last question popped up. "We've never had parents- We just- We've always been on the mountain-" said the girl with a frown, only for the other children to back her up with head-nods. 

        "No parents?" Mrs. Ryan questioned, seeming perplexed by the situation. How did they not remember their parents? "...What do you remember?" 

        "Um..." Quickly, the children began thinking; neither of them recalled a whole lot, but what they could remember wasn't exactly very interesting. 

        "...We just lived on Mount Ebott. We worked together to live and survive. That's it." Vera said simply, only to add, "I should know. I was one of the leaders." 

        "Yeah, the bossy one," Daya remarked, only to acquire a quick, "Shut up!" from the blonde. 

        Mrs. Ryan once again hummed and stared at her clipboard, finding the entire situation to be quite strange. Then again, they had ties to Mount Ebott, and that mountain was a strange place in and of itself. "When I asked you kids for your names, you all told me your first name. Do you know your full names?" 

        "...Full n-names..?" 

        "What are full names?" Already, the children were puzzled, though they did listen to the woman once she spoke up again. 

        "A full name is your first, middle, and last name all wrapped up in one. For example, my full name is Bertha Ryan-" 

        And within moments, a few of the children erupted into small fits of giggles. 

        "What kind of a name is Bertha?" asked Daya with a snicker, the woman giving her and the other two snickering kids an annoyed stare. 

        "It's my name, and I would appreciate it if you didn't laugh at it. That's quite rude." 

        "So's separating all of your friends," Vera noted sourly, only to cross her arms as she leaned back. "We don't have those. My name's just Vera." 

        Bertha couldn't help but stare down at the children and then back at her clipboard, waiting just a moment before saying, "...I see. Thank you all for your time. You all actually sat still instead of trying to beat up my coworkers." 

        "Don't separate us ever," Vera ordered, her glare hardening a bit at the mention of the events from a few days ago. 

        Before any of them could leave, one of the other kids brought up yet another question. "When's Via coming back?" Austin had spoken up, the little boy crossing his arms before wiggling in his seat a bit. This quickly caught the other children's attention, for they all were wondering the same thing, even if they'd been told that she would return at some point. 

        "Via? Oh- Yes. She'll return soon, but for now, she's been left to rest at the hospital, but we've already visited her and can assure you that she's getting better." Even if her words weren't completely true, she knew how they'd react if she said something else, and just as she'd hoped, while Vera still seemed irritated by the vague answer, the children simply nodded to assure her that they understood. "Wait here, please. I have to speak with your... current caretaker."   
  
  
  
Toriel had been sitting in Frisk's room with her son as she waited for the social workers to finish talking with the children, the woman clearly stressed, though she was trying to keep calm for Frisk and Floweys' sake, seeing as both of them were clearly upset. 

        "I really hope Vera doesn't say something that'll get us all in trouble," Frisk said with a frown, the boy pressing his head against the door while Flowey did the same with his... petals. 

        "Are you kidding me?! We told her they don't remember anything didn't we?! Why is she asking them about memories?!" the flower hissed, only to gain a sigh from Frisk. 

        "They always ask these questions so they can find out more about the kids and stuff, and so they can dig up dirt and get Mom in trouble," stated Frisk simply. "Good thing I told them what to say about us. Even if they don't fully like it here yet, they don't like those guys even more." 

        "Frisk, Flowey, please hush. We don't want to disturb them, nor would they appreciate you eavesdropping on their-" 

        "She's coming-!" The second Flowey whisper-yelled this to Frisk, he practically leaped away from the door and ran over towards his bed, right where Toriel was sitting and now waiting for Mrs. Ryan to come inside. Not a minute too soon and the woman knocked on the door, only to open it and catch an annoyed Frisk on his bed with Flowey, all while sitting next to his adoptive mother. 

        "Miss Toriel, I need to speak with you in private," the woman told her, only to look over towards the goat monster expectantly as she watched her straighten up ever so slightly. 

        "Of course. Frisk, please wait with the others-" 

        "Not in here." The woman then glanced behind her for a second before adding, "In the living room, please. We're almost done." 

        Finally, she was leaving. 

        "Frisk, Flowey, please stay here." Toriel then pushed herself up off the bed and began heading towards the door, only to walk out once the social worker had stepped aside. 

        "Please have the other children sit in another room. I wish to speak with you without any of them listening." Bertha then looked towards the couch in the living room, where the children were gathered, all whispering about everything that had happened while explicitly trying to avoid contact with the few other workers nearby. When Austin saw Toriel though, he quickly stood on the couch and waved at the monster, thus garnering the others' attention. 

        "Greetings, children!" Toriel said with a smile, hoping that her calm demeanor might calm down the tense kids. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to calm them as much as she'd hoped, but at least they were all looking her way attentively. "I'll need all of you to wait with Frisk in the boys' room, please. We're almost done, okay?" 

        "Can we play with Frisk's dolls?" Daya asked loudly, only to earn a loud yet muffled, "Action figures!" from Frisk as the girl snickered. 

        With a small yet amused sigh, Toriel then shook her head. "Sorry, but those are very valuable to him. Now please, go wait with him in the room, okay? Mrs. Ryan and I have to talk alone for a moment." 

        All the children did was exchange a few glances between themselves before they moved off and away from the couch and towards Toriel, all while making somewhat wide arcs around the workers. Once they reached the monster, they then all slipped past her and headed into the room, Toriel then gently closing it once they were all inside. 

        "...You're lucky you're already in the system as a foster mother," Bertha grumbled in a begrudging manner. "But even so, there are still many questions pertaining to you and those children, such as how you came to know them, and I don't mean recently either." 

        Toriel, while she was thankful that the many months spent fostering Frisk and even signing up to potentially foster other children had paid off, was a bit confused and concerned by the last question presented to her. She couldn't mean...? "My apologies, but I do not understand what you are saying. Please, explain." 

        In response, Bertha couldn't help but huff. "After uncovering the identity of Viola, or 'Via' as everyone calls her, I checked the records, and it turns out she's been missing for some time. In fact, she's been missing for so long, she should be about forty. They've all confirmed that they only remember living on Mount Ebott, which is where you came from." 

        The way Bertha pointed out all of this information made Toriel's blood run cold, the monster already worried about not only the children, but what this could mean for monsters and humans alike. If they ever found out the truth about the children and what they'd been used for... Toriel didn't want to think about it. 

        "We've been speaking to the authorities, and we uncovered that Viola is one of seven missing children's cases, all of which went missing around Mount Ebott," the social worker continued, only to give Toriel a dangerous look. "If these are those children, then you'll have more to worry about than how to potentially foster five kids, five kids that don't even deserve to be put in your possession." 

        Quickly, Toriel's gaze hardened at the last statement, the monster still remaining calm, though she didn't at all appreciate the threat. "Try as you might, you cannot separate these kids without causing an uproar, and hardly ever will anyone willingly foster six children all at once. And I know what's best for them. I know how to care for them. If I can not only lead a kingdom, but also teach at a school, I can assure you that I can take care of seven children." 

        "Actually, six children." 

        The goat monster couldn't help but frown in concern at Bertha correcting her like that, not at all liking what she was implying. "Hmm? What do you mean 'six?'" 

        The dark-skinned woman then took a look at her paper-work, only to raise her eyes to Toriel's and say, "We've already finished tracking down Viola's relatives." She then paused, only to let the news sink in for a moment. "Viola will be going home tomorrow." 

        Already, the monster was staring as her in disbelief. They'd found her parents? Honestly, Toriel sometimes forgot the children she cared for even had other parents; she already considered them her children and therefore their mother, so thinking that they had other family was... strange. And heartbreaking. 

        "Don't try to fight with us over this decision. It'll happen to the other children eventually, especially if they really are some of the missing children, which I suspect they are. You can't keep them away from their families forever. Their real families, might I add. Do you understand?" 

        A moment of silence as Toriel took it all in, the monster still worrying over how this all might end, and not for herself, but her children. With a deep breath, the sad mother spoke. "I understand."


	13. Mother

The past few days had been very strange for Via to say the least. The hospital was overwhelming, at least in the beginning, and honestly, the girl had been and still was a little nervous over the entire thing. Thankfully, her friends visiting along with Toriel had calmed her down to an extent; after all, her friends were safe; they were with Toriel, and she knew the monster was safe...

        "Viola Ivy Roe... Viola... Ivy... Roe..." she murmured, the pre-teen still trying to get used to the sound of her name. Ah yes, she had been given the same treatment her friends had been given, even if she wasn't aware of what had happened between the social workers and the others. During these sessions, however, they had uncovered her name, and no matter how many times the girl repeated it, the name simply sounded... Wrong. But she knew they were right. This was her name. At least, it was her legal name... But to her, she would always be Via. Just Via. 

        "Good morning, Via!" The sound of someone announcing their presence caused the young patient to look towards the slight blur that was the nurse, the girl relaxing just a bit as she approached. 

        "Hello," greeted the pre-teen quietly, only to watch as the familiar nurse set down her lunch for the day. Out of everyone that came into her hospital room, this particular nurse was her favorite, mostly because she didn't ask her any strange questions, gave her food, and was overall very kind to her. It... It felt good, honestly, being pampered like this. It almost made her not want to return to her old life in the woods. 

        "I brought you a ham sandwich today, and some chips if you want them," the nurse informed, only to cheerfully add, "Oh! And by the way, your glasses are here! They came in much quicker than I'd thought!" 

        Already, the girl was intrigued as she looked towards the nurse with sparkling green eyes. She'd been happy to learn that she was getting glasses, especially considering she remembered how it felt to borrow Frisk's. Of course, her eyesight had still been bad with Frisk's glasses, but it had been better than nothing. But the nurse had told her that she was receiving her own pair of glasses made just for her, and that made her feel quite good honestly. 

        "Close your eyes, and don't open them until I tell you to, okay?" requested the woman, Via complying by doing just that. When she felt the accessory get slipped onto her face, the girl cringed a bit, but eventually brought up her hands to adjust them. And then, she was given the go to open her eyes. 

        The clearness of her vision quickly shocked the girl, who blinked a few times as she tried to process what she was seeing. She knew the world was colorful, for she'd seen these colors herself. She'd just hardly ever seen these colors get separated properly, and it felt good to know that now, with this tool, she could see like everyone else. "...It's ...Beautiful ...Is this what everyone else sees...?" 

        "Mhm!" replied the nurse as she gave her a smile, revealing pearly white teeth that Via now had a clear view of. "Just about everyone at least. You're lucky those came in so early! Otherwise, you would've had to wait for them to get delivered to your mother!" 

        Quickly, Via's attention was caught once again, though this time, she sounded more confused than happy. "...My mother...?" 

        "Yeah, your mother! Didn't you hear? Or did they not tell you yet?" asked the woman with a frown, concern evident as she watched Via's expression. When Via questioned if the nurse had actually meant Toriel, all she could do was sigh and shake her head. "No, sweetie. Your real mother... She's alive. And I know you have amnesia, darling, but you have a mom out there who loves you very much, and I'm sure she'll be happy to see you." 

        With a gentle smile on her face, the nurse then reached out and patted Via's head, only to advise her to eat her lunch before leaving the girl alone yet again. But unfortunately, Via's appetite was nowhere to be found as she thought about what the friendly woman had said, an empty pit in her stomach as she thought about the word. Mother... 

        There were only two things she associated with that word: Toriel, and pain. She didn't quite understand it yet, but pain was what came to mind. Pain and just... an overall bad feeling... And if mother didn't mean Toriel, then what exactly was she in for? The pre-teen could swear she had a memory to match up with her bad feelings, yet every time she reached for it, it drifted away. So much for her amnesia leaving her alone; it seems all she could remember for the moment were some blurry scenarios in the Underground and Mount Ebott in general. 

        With a small sigh, Via carefully picked up her sandwich and began to eat, chewing carefully as she took her time in doing so. She didn't know when she would be fetched, but it had to be soon; she was sure it was soon, and the girl was indeed right. Ten minutes after finishing her meal, the child was greeted by some familiar social workers, and soon, Via had been placed in a car and was on her way to this 'mother.' 

        "Via?" 

        A concerned voice pulled the brunette out of her daydreams and back into reality, the girl then turning her head away from the window and looking towards the one that had spoken. "Yes?" 

        Sitting right next to Via was none other than Bertha Ryan, the woman who happened to be practically running this entire case, at least when it came to handling the children and what would happen to them. So far, the woman was quite pleased that she was helping a young girl return to her mother after all of these years, but even so, she still knew that Via's case was a special one, for obvious reasons. "I know you said you were beginning to remember a few things, yes?" 

        "Mhm." 

        At the sight of Via's nod as well as the sound of her hum, the woman continued. "Do you remember anything else?" She then paused as she watched the young girl slowly divert her gaze before looking away, thus concerning Bertha given her reaction. "I'm sorry for asking. I'm just curious." 

        "It's fine... It's just... I have a bad feeling..." Via murmured, only to tilt her glasses up a bit in order to rub her eyes. 

        "A bad feeling?" 

        "...Yeah..." 

        "Does this have to do with memories?" asked the brunette, only for Via to slowly shrug in response. 

        "...Sort of... I'm not sure if I want to meet my mother or not..." The word sounded very strange to say out loud, especially when she was using that word to refer to someone she barely even knew. 

        Taking in Via's concerns, Bertha then waited for a moment before reaching out and gently rubbing the girl's shoulder in an attempt to somehow soothe the child. "Hmm... Maybe these are just nerves. You'll never know until you meet her though, yes?" 

        All Via did was sit there for a moment, happy that Bertha was at least trying something. She'd always been so nice to the girl during the few visits they'd had together, even though the first one was a bit tense for whatever reason. Leaning back in her seat, she then looked towards the woman and let out a small breath. "I hope so..." 

        After that, the young girl had gone back to staring out the window, watching as they drove passed fields and farms continuously. It was quite boring honestly, but Via liked watching it all the same; after all, she'd never left Mount Ebott before until a few days ago, and the meadows were such a nice change of pace compared to the hospital room as well as the cramped city. Eventually, however, the meadows began to fade, and soon she found herself back inside another city. 

        "...I thought we left Ebott City," said Via with a frown, only to look towards Bertha, who simply smiled softly at the child. 

        "We did, sweetie. This is another city. Welcome to Sierra. Your mother lives in an apartment here." At the sound of the word, Via seemed to grow confused, which of coursed prompted the woman to explain. "An apartment's like a house, but it's a bit smaller, and it's in one building along with many other apartments. Imagine living in a building with a lot of rooms, and you own one of those rooms. Can you do that?" 

        Sitting there for a moment, Via then waited before giving the social worker a small nod, her expression going blank for a moment as she got lost in her own mind once again. She could've sworn there was a memory there... It was just right out of reach, and no matter how close she got to unlocking it, she just couldn't seem to do so. The only thing that pulled her back out of her thoughts was when the car began backing up, and that's when she realized that they were parking. They'd arrived. 

        "We're almost there. We just have to get to the third floor, and then you can say hello to your mother," said Bertha with a kind smile, only to open the door to the car and let herself out. Not knowing what else to do, Via did the same, opening the door on her side before stepping out and shutting it. Quickly, the pre-teen circled the car until she reached Bertha, watching as the woman stared at her phone before looking towards a door near their parking space. "Yeah, we're in the right place. Let's go." 

        With that, the woman then gently placed an arm behind Via's back as she steered her towards the correct door, only to open it for her and begin to head up the stairs. Behind her were the driver of the car as well as another worker who had sat up front, both of which were holding clipboards as they followed behind the two. As much as each of these workers wished to return her to her mother, they knew they couldn't just hand her over. After all, they had to make sure that after all of these years, the woman was still able of taking care of a child; even if records showed that she did indeed have the salary for it, that didn't mean she could properly handle Via, especially after all of these years. 

        After climbing three flights of stairs, the social worker then opened a door and headed down a hallway, only to stop at one of the rooms with Via in tow. "Ready to meet your mother?" 

        The question didn't quite phase Via this time around, for she knew she'd be asked this again at some point. But even though she had responded with a nod, the young girl didn't feel ready at all. Something seemed wrong to her, something... dangerous... But what was it? She couldn't put her finger on it... All she could do was sense that something bad would happen... 

        Knocking on the door, Bertha stood above the brunette with her hand placed gently on her shoulder, the woman giving it a gentle squeeze in order to try and calm her nerves. While she too knew that there was a chance that this meeting could take a turn for the worst, the woman was hoping that instead, this would be a happy reunion. What kind of mother wouldn't want to see their little girl after she had been missing for so long? 

        As they waited, the group eventually heard the sound of footsteps approach the door, only for the sound of a lock turning ensue before finally, the door opened, though only by a crack. "What do you want?! I'm busy." 

        The voice instantly caused Via to tense, her eyes instantly focusing on the figure peering through the door. However, Bertha spoke up before her attention could turn to the girl, though even with the social worker speaking, it still didn't soothe Via. Not at all. "Are you Margaret Lily Roe?" 

        "...Yeah? What do you- Wait..." The newly named Margaret's attention quickly changed as she finally noticed a certain someone in the group. She hadn't recognized her at first; the new glasses and hair not being braided had thrown her off for a moment. But now that she was able to look at her, now that she was staring back... It became clear to her exactly who this was. "...Via?!" 

        "...Mother..."

**Author's Note:**

> Undertale belongs to Toby Fox.  
> I only own the plot/AT, Flare, and Vera.  
> Daya (c) Eshi (quotev.com/essence)  
> Austin (c) Reppie (tumblr.com/repperbub)  
> Gabriel (c) Stephen (quotev.com/lilpacifrisk)  
> Via (c) Mary (quotev.com/themarysaurus)
> 
> **This fic can also be found on Wattpad, Quotev, and Deviantart! Look on deviantart especially for chapter illustrations and bonus pictures!**


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